Definition
前世 is a Buddhist term meaning 'previous life' or 'past existence' — the life you lived before this one in the cycle of reincarnation. In everyday Chinese it often appears in emotional or joking contexts: 我前世欠你的 ('I must have owed you in a past life') to express exasperation or deep gratitude. It can also refer broadly to 'previous generations' or 'an earlier era', though that usage is less common.
n.
(Buddhist) past lifeprevious existence(figurative) previous generation(s)an earlier time
Examples
- 前世。Tā xiāngxìn qián shì de yīnyuán huì yǐngxiǎng jīnshēng de shēnghuó.He believes that karmic connections from a past life affect this life.
- ，前世。Nǐ duì wǒ zhème hǎo, wǒ zhēn huáiyí qián shì wǒmen shì yì jiā rén.You are so kind to me—I really suspect we were family in a past life.
- 前世。Zhè zuò lǎo fángzi bǎoliú zhe qián shì de fēnggé.This old house retains the style of a previous era.
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