qián

乾

Character · Noun · AdjectiveTraditional前

one of the eight trigrams; male; surname

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

3 senses · 5 examples
1.

noun

one of the eight trigrams, symbolizing heaven

formal

A traditional Chinese philosophical trigram concept, see 八卦 for full context.

Zài在
yì易
jīng经
zhōng中
 ，
qián乾
guà卦
dài代
biǎo表
tiān天
 。

In the Book of Changes, the Qian trigram represents heaven.

Qián乾
guà卦
shì是
bā八
guà卦
zhī之
shǒu首
 。

The Qian trigram is the first of the eight trigrams.

2.

adjective

male (old-fashioned term)

archaic

Used exclusively in traditional Chinese marriage or kinship contexts, now rarely used in modern daily speech.

Liǎng两
jiā家
shāng商
liang量
zhe着
qián乾
zào造
de的
shēng生
chén辰
bā八
zì字
 。

The two families discussed the birth date of the groom.

Qián乾
zhái宅
de的
zhǎng长
bèi辈
lái来
cān参
jiā加
hūn婚
lǐ礼
le了
 。

The elder male relatives of the groom's family came to the wedding.

3.

noun

surname Qian

A common Chinese surname.

Qián乾
xiān先
sheng生
shì是
wǒ我
men们
gōng公
sī司
de的
xīn新
tóng同
shì事
 。

Mr. Qian is a new colleague at our company.