What it means
قبل از (qabl az) is the standard Persian phrase for “before” or “prior to.” It is a mixed-origin compound: قبل (qabl) is borrowed from Arabic قبل, meaning “before” or “in front of,” while از (az) is a native Persian preposition meaning “from.” Together they form the most common way to express precedence in time or sequence. Its direct opposite is بعد از (ba’d az), meaning “after.” In very formal or literary Persian you may also see پیش از (pish az), a fully Persian synonym with the same meaning.
How to use it
- قبل از ناهار استراحت کردم. (qabl az nâhâr esterâhat kardam.) “I rested before lunch.”
- قبل از رفتن در رو قفل کن. (qabl az raftan dar ro qofl kon.) “Lock the door before leaving.”
- قبل از این که بپرسی، جواب میدم. (qabl az in ke bepors, javâb midam.) “Before you ask, I’ll answer.”
- یه ساعت قبل از شروع اومد. (ye sâat qabl az shoroo umad.) “He arrived one hour before the start.”
Cultural note
قبل از is so central to Persian sentence structure that learners encounter it within the first weeks of study. Persian often places time expressions, including those introduced by قبل از, near the beginning of a sentence, which differs from typical English word order. The fully native synonym پیش از (pish az) appears in more formal or literary contexts, while قبل از dominates everyday spoken and written Persian.