# Trước khi: before / after (+ action) in Vietnamese (A2)

> Trước khi means "before" and sau khi means "after", followed by an action: trước khi ăn (before eating), sau khi tốt nghiệp (after graduating).

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/truoc-khi-sau-khi/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**before / after (+ action)**

Pattern: `trước khi / sau khi + [verb or sentence], … · trước / sau + [noun]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: truoc khi, sau khi

*Trước khi* means "before" and *sau khi* means "after", followed by an action: *trước khi ăn* (before eating), *sau khi tốt nghiệp* (after graduating). Like *khi*, the phrase usually comes first, then a comma and the main sentence: *Trước khi ngủ, tôi hay đọc sách.* Before I go to sleep, I usually read.

The phrase can also come second: *Rửa tay trước khi ăn nha.* Wash your hands before you eat. The action can have its own person: *Sau khi con đi học, mẹ đi chợ.* After the kids leave for school, Mum goes to the market. When it's the same person in both parts, say it only once.

Before a noun or a time, leave out *khi*: *trước bữa ăn* (before the meal), *sau Tết* (after Tết), *trước bảy giờ* (before seven). An action takes *khi*; a thing or a time doesn't.

In speech, "after eating" is often *ăn xong*: *Ăn xong mình đi.* We'll go after we eat. And "after that, then" is *sau đó*: *Tôi ăn sáng, sau đó đi làm.*

## A common mistake

✗ Trước ăn, em rửa tay.

✓ Trước khi ăn, em rửa tay.

Before a verb, add *khi*: *trước khi ăn*. *Trước* alone goes before a noun or a time: *trước bữa ăn*.

## Examples

- Trước khi ngủ, tôi hay đọc sách. — I usually read before I go to sleep.
- Saigon: Rửa tay trước khi ăn nha con. | Hà Nội: Rửa tay trước khi ăn nhé con. — Wash your hands before you eat, sweetheart.
- Sau khi tốt nghiệp, chị Lan làm ở ngân hàng. — After graduating, Lan worked at a bank.
- Sau Tết em mới đi làm lại. — I won't be back at work until after Tết.

## Words in this pattern

- [sau](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/sau-after/#s_sau_after): after
- [sau khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/sau-khi/#s_sau_khi): after
- [trước](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/truoc-before/#s_truoc_before): before
- [trước khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/truoc-khi/#s_truoc_khi): before

## Compare

- [When: khi … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khi-when/): when (+ sentence)
- [Finished doing: verb + xong](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xong-finished/): finish doing
- [Hearing this, seeing that: a verb phrase before the subject (Nghe tin, cô ấy khóc)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/fronted-verb-phrase/): on hearing / seeing …, the subject …

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Back when: hồi + time (hồi nhỏ, hồi đó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hoi-back-when/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Ever and never so far: … bao giờ chưa, chưa … bao giờ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chua-bao-gio-ever/)

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