事先

shìxiān
  1. in advance
  2. before the event
  3. beforehand
  4. prior

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 事 shì
  1. matter
  2. thing
  3. item
  4. work
  5. affair

classifiers: 件, 樁, 回
2 先 xiān
  1. beforehand; first; earlier
  2. at first; originally
  3. for the time being; for now
  4. (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)