生前…，死后…
in (someone’s) lifetime …, after death …
Structure
（主语） 生前 做的事／情况 ， 死后 结果
What it means
Contrasts what happened in someone's lifetime with what followed their death: neglect then fame, deeds then reward or punishment. 生前 = during the life of someone now dead.
How it is built
（Subject）生前 + deed or situation，死后 + result: 这位画家生前一幅画也没卖出去，死后作品却成了无价之宝 (unsold in his lifetime, priceless after his death).
When to use it
Formal; at home in obituaries, biographies and wills (生前好友, 生前的心愿) and in moral sayings (生前作恶，死后受罚).
Watch out
Only of someone already dead; for the living say 以前 or 年轻的时候. Don't confuse 生前 with 出生前 (before birth).
Examples
生前作恶，死后受罚。
Do evil in your lifetime and be punished after death.
这位画家生前一幅画也没卖出去，死后作品却成了无价之宝。
In his lifetime the painter did not sell a single picture, but after his death his works became priceless.
老人生前省吃俭用，死后全部积蓄按他的心愿捐给了村里的小学。
The old man scrimped and saved all his life, and after his death, as he had wished, all his savings went to the village primary school.
Learn this in Lesson 248 · HSK 9+: 城隍与阎王 (City gods and the king of hell)
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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