前不久

• Pinyin: qián bù jiǔ
• Hanzi breakdown: 前 = before/front; 不 = negation particle; 久 = pictograph of a person lying — a long time

Meaning

Not long ago; recently; a short while back. Refers to a time in the recent past without specifying an exact date.

A commonly used temporal adverbial phrase equivalent to 最近/不久前. More colloquial than 近日 or 近期. Situates an event in the recent past without precise dating. Widely used in news, conversation, and written narrative. Usually placed at the start of a sentence or clause.

Examples

1. 前不久，国家统计局发布的数据显示，城镇居民消费支出同比增长了百分之六点八。 Not long ago, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that urban residents’ consumer spending rose 6.8% year over year.
2. 他前不久刚从欧洲出差回来，还没来得及倒时差，就又投入了新项目的紧张筹备工作之中。 He got back from a business trip to Europe not long ago, and before he even had time to adjust to the time difference, he threw himself into intense preparations for a new project.
3. 前不久召开的全国教育工作会议，明确提出了未来五年基础教育改革的重点方向与主要目标。 At the national education conference held not long ago, officials clearly laid out the key directions and main goals for basic education reform over the next five years.

Usage Guide

Context: news, conversation, narrative, reports

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 前不久出台的一系列稳经济政策已初步显现成效，制造业采购经理人指数连续两个月回升至荣枯线以上。(A series of economic stabilisation policies introduced not long ago have begun to show initial results, with the manufacturing PMI rising above the expansion threshold for two consecutive months.)
• 前不久公司进行了一次内部组织架构调整，部分业务部门合并重组，管理层级也相应作了精简优化。(Not long ago, the company underwent an internal organisational restructuring — certain business departments were merged and reorganised, and the management hierarchy was correspondingly streamlined and optimised.)

Don't Say

• 前不久以后他来了 — 前不久 refers to the recent past, not the future; do not combine with future-pointing expressions; use 不久之后 for the near future

Origin & History

前 (front/before) + 不 (not) + 久 (long time) — not long before the present; recently in the past

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal