wontonsoup Posted January 16, 2007 at 12:30 PM Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 at 12:30 PM what's the mandarin equivalent of 头先? meaning "before" eg, i already went there before (我头先去过la!) would it be 之前? i don't think this is used in cantonese for such situation so i wasn't thinking the same for mandarin also, it's more used in a situation such as 我食饭之前洗o左手 what other ways are there to say "before" in mandarin? plz correct me if my statements are wrong, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted January 17, 2007 at 08:11 AM Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 at 08:11 AM what's the mandarin equivalent of 头先?meaning "before" eg, i already went there before (我头先去过la!) would it be 之前? Try 以前：我以前去过la! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gougou Posted January 17, 2007 at 08:15 AM Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 at 08:15 AM Consider using 曾经. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koneko Posted January 17, 2007 at 09:50 AM Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 at 09:50 AM 头先 is actually a type of 语病 in Mandarin Chinese. Although, it's acceptable in Hakka, Cantonese dialects. You shouldn't really use 头先 in Mandarin. Apart from 以前 之前 曾经 You may also consider the followings:- 前此 较早 在前 在前方 在前头 在前面 先于 优于 比…早些 As you can see, there are actually quite a lot for you to choose from. They all mean "before" in Chinese. K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted January 17, 2007 at 10:16 AM Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 at 10:16 AM The mandarin equivalent of "頭先" is 剛才 / 剛剛. Take a look -> http://hanyu.chi.cuhk.edu.hk/chetio.asp?chetio=3062 The 現代標準漢語與粵語對照資料庫 is a good tool for finding corresponding mandarin terms for Cantonese words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koneko Posted January 17, 2007 at 04:46 PM Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 at 04:46 PM The mandarin equivalent of "頭先" is 剛才 / 剛剛. Take a look -> http://hanyu.chi.cuhk.edu.hk/chetio.asp?chetio=3062 I didn't know that... 头先 is always "before" in Hakka at least. 刚才 or 刚刚 in Hakka is same as Mandarin's "just" or "just now" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wontonsoup Posted January 28, 2007 at 01:18 AM Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 at 01:18 AM i looked up 曾经 in the dictionary and the meaning was "once"! not "before" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted January 28, 2007 at 08:08 AM Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 at 08:08 AM i looked up 曾经 in the dictionary and the meaning was "once"!not "before" The meaning of a word is what it means in combination with its neighbours, not when it is on its own. (You're known by the companies you keep! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koneko Posted January 28, 2007 at 12:23 PM Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 at 12:23 PM Bravo, bravo! そうだね！ K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quest Posted February 4, 2007 at 03:38 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 at 03:38 PM 头先~＝啱啱(ngamngam)＝刚刚 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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