空前绝后
kōng qián jué hòu
unprecedented and never to be matched
Character by character
空kōng
empty
empty
前qián
before
before
绝jué
cut off
cut off
后hòu
after
after
Example
那场演唱会的规模空前绝后，至今没有人能超过。
That concert was on a scale never seen before or since; nobody has topped it yet.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Often an overstatement in speech, and sometimes ironic. 空前 on its own, unprecedented, is far more common in writing: 空前的规模, 盛况空前.
Learn this in Lesson 88 · HSK 6–7: 司马迁与《史记》 (Sima Qian and the Records of the Grand Historian)
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.
Open the lesson →