前脚…，后脚（就）…
no sooner … than …; the moment … , …
Structure
主语一 前脚 （刚）动作一 ， （主语二） 后脚 （就）动作二
What it means
Two events happen only a step apart: 'no sooner… than…'. 前脚 and 后脚 are the front and back foot of one stride. It often carries surprise, irony or bad luck.
How it is built
Subject 1 + 前脚 (刚) + action 1，(subject 2) + 后脚 (就) + action 2: 你前脚刚走，他后脚就来了 (He arrived just after you had left). The two subjects can be the same or different.
When to use it
Colloquial and vivid. In formal writing use 刚…就… or 随即. Compared with plain 刚…就…, it stresses how close the two events were, and often how ironic or unlucky that is.
Watch out
Keep the order: 前脚 first, 后脚 second (✗后脚…，前脚…). Only for events moments apart, not things that are days apart.
Examples
他常常前脚刚把钥匙放下，后脚就满屋子找。
He would put his keys down and the next moment hunt all over the flat for them.
我前脚刚进门，后脚就下起了大雨。
No sooner had I stepped through the door than it started pouring.
你前脚刚走，他后脚就来了，正好错过。
He arrived just after you had left; you missed each other by moments.
Learn this in Lesson 161 · HSK 7–9: 忘了回家的路 (Forgetting the way home)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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