The short version: Chinese puts the event first and the time word after it. 吃饭以前 chīfàn yǐqián = before eating. 下课以后 xiàkè yǐhòu = after class. 我小的时候 wǒ xiǎo de shíhou = when I was little. Used on its own, 以前 means in the past and 以后 means from now on. To say afterwards in a story about the past, use 后来 hòulái.
English opens a time clause with the time word: before I eat, after class, when I was young. Chinese does the opposite. It treats the event as a description and the time word as the noun it describes, a little like saying “the eating-before” or “the I-was-little time”. Once you hear it that way, the word order stops feeling backwards.
The word order: event first, time word last
English
The time word opens the clause.
Chinese
The event comes first, and 以前 closes the clause.
Because Chinese verbs do not change form, the same clause works for the past and the future. The rest of the sentence, and words such as 了, show when it happened. You will often hear 了 inside an after-clause, as in 吃了饭以后 chīle fàn yǐhòu, which stresses that the eating was finished first. Both versions are correct.
✗
✓ 吃饭以前，要洗手。
If 以前 comes first, the listener hears “in the past”, not “before”: 以前吃饭 sounds like the start of “in the past, (when we) ate…”.
之前 and 之后: the same meaning, a little more formal
之前 zhīqián and 之后 zhīhòu mean exactly the same as 以前 and 以后 and follow the same order. They sound slightly more formal and are very common in writing, announcements and longer sentences.
Short forms: 饭后, 睡前, 三天前
After a single syllable or a length of time, Chinese often uses just 前 or 后. These short forms are everywhere on signs and labels.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 饭前 / 饭后 | fàn qián / fàn hòu | before meals / after meals |
| 睡前 | shuì qián | before bed |
| 饭后服用 | fàn hòu fúyòng | take after meals (on medicine) |
| 三天前 | sān tiān qián | three days ago |
| 两个月后 | liǎng ge yuè hòu | two months later / in two months |
On their own: 以前, 以后 and the 后来 trap
Without an event in front, 以前 and 以后 stop meaning before and after. They point to the past and the future in general.
以前 alone
我以前住在上海。wǒ yǐqián zhù zài ShànghǎiI used to live in Shanghai.
In the past, formerly.
以后 alone
以后我不喝酒了。yǐhòu wǒ bù hē jiǔ leFrom now on, I'm not drinking.
In the future, from now on.
This creates the most common error with these words. In a story about the past, English says “and afterwards”, and learners reach for 以后. On its own, though, 以后 points forward in time. For “afterwards” or “later on” in the past, Chinese uses 后来 hòulái.
的时候: when and while
的时候 de shíhou means the time when, and it follows the same rule: the whole clause comes first, then 的时候.
A few very common words contain 时候 without 的. They are fixed vocabulary rather than when-clauses, and one of them means something quite different:
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in childhood: 我小时候很胖, I was chubby as a child |
| 那时候 / 这时候 | nà shíhou / zhè shíhou | at that time / at this moment |
| 有时候 | yǒushíhou | sometimes: 我有时候走路去学校 |
的时候 or 以后?
The two can describe the same evening in different ways. 的时候 puts the events side by side in time, and 以后 puts them in sequence.
At the same time
我到家的时候，妈妈在做饭。wǒ dào jiā de shíhou, māma zài zuò fànWhen I got home, Mum was cooking.
One after the other
我到家以后，妈妈开始做饭。wǒ dào jiā yǐhòu, māma kāishǐ zuò fànAfter I got home, Mum started cooking.
Check yourself
Remember: event first, time word last.
Event first: 睡觉以前. 以前睡觉 sounds like “in the past, sleeping…”.
Afterwards, in the past: 后来.
From now on, in the future: 以后.
After a clause, you need 的时候.
有时候 = sometimes.
三天前 sān tiān qián. 前三天 means “the first three days”.
Tell stories in the right order
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Learn Chinese with Hanzijo - FreeQuick reference
- Word order
- Event first, time word last: 吃饭以前, 下课以后, 我小的时候.
- 以前 / 之前
- Before. 之前 is slightly more formal.
- 以后 / 之后
- After. 之后 is slightly more formal.
- Short forms
- 饭前, 饭后, 睡前, 三天前 (ago), 三天后 (later).
- On their own
- 以前 = in the past (我以前住在上海). 以后 = in the future, from now on (以后再说).
- 后来
- Afterwards, past only: 后来他去了上海.
- 的时候
- When / while: 我到的时候, 吃饭的时候. Fixed words without 的: 小时候, 那时候; 有时候 = sometimes.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say before in Chinese?
Put 以前 (yǐqián) or 之前 (zhīqián) after the event: 吃饭以前 chīfàn yǐqián, before eating. The order is the reverse of English.
How do you say after in Chinese?
Put 以后 (yǐhòu) or 之后 (zhīhòu) after the event: 下课以后 xiàkè yǐhòu, after class.
What is the difference between 以后 and 后来?
以后 on its own points to the future: 以后我不喝酒了, from now on I won't drink. 后来 means afterwards and is used only for the past: 后来他去了上海, later he went to Shanghai. With an event in front, as in 下课以后, 以后 can describe the past or the future.
How do you say when in Chinese?
Put 的时候 (de shíhou) after the clause: 我小的时候 wǒ xiǎo de shíhou, when I was little; 吃饭的时候, while eating.
What is the difference between 小时候 and 有时候?
小时候 (xiǎoshíhou) is a fixed word meaning in childhood. 有时候 (yǒushíhou) means sometimes. Neither is a when-clause, which is why they appear without 的.
- 吕叔湘 (Lü Shuxiang), 《现代汉语八百词》: the entries for 以前, 以后, 后来 and 时候.
- 国际中文教育中文水平等级标准 (GF 0025-2021): the official standard behind the new HSK levels.
- Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), official HSK site (chinesetest.cn).