Example sentences
qián前miàn面jiù就shì是xué学xiào校。
The school is just ahead.
nǐ你zuò坐qián前miàn面ba吧。
Sit in the front.
The story behind the character
前
The traditional 前 is 止 (foot) over 舟 (boat). A person on a boat, feet pointing ahead. It meant "to advance."
面
面 is a face with an eye in the middle. Xu Shen wrote 面, 颜前也. The front of the head. Only later did it stretch to mean "side" or "noodle."