| 以前 |  yǐ qián | before / formerly / previous / ago |   |
| 之前 | zhī qián | before / prior to / ago / previously / beforehand | |
| 前些 | qián xiē | a few (days, years etc) ago | |
| 距今 | jù jīn | before the present / (a long period) ago | |
| 前 | qián | front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly | |
| 刚刚 | gāng gang | just recently / just a moment ago | |
| 日前 | rì qián | the other day / a few days ago | |
| 前几天 | qián jǐ tiān | a few days ago / a few days before / the past few days / the previous few days | |
| 不久前 | bù jiǔ qián | not long ago | |
| 前不久 | qián bù jiǔ | not long ago / not long before | |
| 早年 | zǎo nián | many years ago / in the past / in one's early years | |
| 适才 | shì cái | just now / a moment ago (often used in the early vernacular) | |
| 曾几何时 | céng jǐ hé shí | just a while before / not so long ago / everyone can remember when.. | |
| 悠远 | yōu yuǎn | long time ago / distant / far away | |
| 老早 | lǎo zǎo | a long time ago | |
| 隔世 | gé shì | separated by a generation / a lifetime ago | |
| 久已 | jiǔ yǐ | long ago / a long time since | |
| 将 | jiāng | will / shall / to use / to take / to checkmate / just a short while ago / (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) | |
| 中生代 | Zhōng shēng dài | Mesozoic (geological era 250-65m years ago, covering Triassic 三疊紀|三叠纪, Jurassic 侏羅紀|侏罗纪 / and Cretaceous 白堊紀|白垩纪) | |
| 大前天 | dà qián tiān | three days ago | |
| 早 | zǎo | early / morning / Good morning! / long ago / prematurely | |
| 古生代 | Gǔ shēng dài | Paleozoic, geological era 545-250m years ago, covering Cambrian 寒武紀|寒武纪, Ordovician 奧陶紀|奥陶纪, Silurian 志留紀|志留纪, Devonian 泥盆紀|泥盆纪, Carboniferous 石炭紀|石炭纪, Permian 二疊紀|二叠纪 | |
| 顷 | qǐng | unit of area equal to 100 畝|亩[mu3] or 6.67 hectares / a short while / a little while ago / circa. (for approximate dates) | |
| 恍如隔世 | huǎng rú gé shì | like a thing of the previous generation / as if it were a lifetime ago | |
| 只不过几年前 | zhǐ bù guò jǐ nián qián | only a few years ago / just a few years ago | |
| 前寒武纪 | qián hán wǔ jì | pre-Cambrian, geological period before c. 540m years ago | |
| 千年前 | qiān nián qián | a thousand years ago | |
| 宿草 | sù cǎo | grass that has grown on a grave since last year / (fig.) grave / to have died long ago / fodder provided to animals for the night | |
| 更新世 | Gēng xīn shì | Pleistocene (geological epoch from 2m years ago, covering the most recent ice ages) | |
| 才然 | cái rán | just recently / just a moment ago / just now | |
| 万年前 | wàn nián qián | ten thousand years ago | |
| 适间 | shì jiān | just now / just a moment ago | |
| 顷者 | qǐng zhě | just now / a short while ago | |
| 显生代 | Xiǎn shēng dài | Phanerozoic, geological eon lasting since the Cambrian 寒武紀|寒武纪[Han2 wu3 ji4], c. 540m year ago | |
| 显生宙 | Xiǎn shēng zhòu | Phanerozoic, geological eon lasting since the Cambrian 寒武紀|寒武纪[Han2 wu3 ji4], c. 540m year ago | |
| 五百年前是一家 | wǔ bǎi nián qián shì yī jiā | five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname) | |
| 大前年 | dà qián nián | three years ago | |
| 打早 | dǎ zǎo | earlier / long ago / as soon as possible | |
