fan1 cin4婚前
Jyutpingfan1 cin4
Yalefān chìhn
Definition
Pre-marital; before marriage.
neutralfamilypeople
How it's used
Functions as a modifier for nouns rather than a standalone adverb. It is almost exclusively used in formal or clinical contexts like medical checkups or legal agreements. In casual conversation, people prefer using 結婚之前 to describe the time period leading up to a wedding.
Examples
They bought a flat before they got married.
Have you two thought about doing pre-marital counseling?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using it as a standalone time adverbial like you might use "before" in English. It must directly precede a noun or a noun phrase to describe a state or event.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
