今昔

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 看着老照片,他不禁感慨今昔的变化。▶ —
   Looking at the old photos, he sighed at how much had changed.
2. 这座城市今昔对比,简直判若两地。▶ —
   Comparing this city then and now, it is like two different places.

Collocations

Mnemonic

今 jīn "now" + 昔 xī "former times": now set beside the past, i.e. past and present. The set phrase 今非昔比 ("the present is not what the past was") captures the sense of dramatic change.

Related

Quick check

1. What does 今昔 mean?

   • past and present
   • early morning
   • the far future
   • eternity