前 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

前: before; front; previous; ahead. JLPT N5; 9 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ゼン

Kun readings

まえ

Romaji

zen, mae

Study notes

前 indicates what is in front in space and what comes before in time.

On readings: ゼン in 午前 (ごぜん, morning, a.m.), 以前 (いぜん, before, a time), 前半 (ぜんはん, first half), 事前 (じぜん, ahead), 前日 (ぜんじつ, the day before). As a prefix it means 'previous': 前回 (ぜんかい, last time).

Kun reading: まえ, 'in front, before': 駅の前 (in front of the station), 三年前 (さんねんまえ, three years ago), 名前 (なまえ, name), 出前 (でまえ, home delivery). After a verb in base form, 〜前に means 'before': 寝る前に (before sleeping).

Remember: お前 (おまえ, you) is a rude or very confidential pronoun. The opposite of 前 is 後 (うしろ, behind; あと, after): 午前 (ごぜん, morning) opposes 午後 (ごご, afternoon).

Example words

• 午前 (ごぜん) — morning; a.m.
• 前回 (ぜんかい) — the previous time
• 前 (まえ) — front; before

Example sentences

駅の前で会いましょう。

eki no mae de aimashou.

Let's meet in front of the station.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.