前

前	Meanings: before, in front of, previous On Readings: ゼン Kun Readings: まえ Most Used Pronunciation: mae JLPT Level: 4 (see all JLPT 4 kanji) Grade: 2 Kanji Part: リ Stroke Number: 9

Level 4 Completion 33 / 103

Common jukugo
駅前 - えき　まえ eki mae - in front of the station
午前 - ご　ぜん go zen - morning (AM)
名前 - な　まえ na mae - name
二年前 - に　ねん　まえ ni nen mae - 2 years ago

Useful Examples
Japanese: 母の名前は明子です。
Romaji: haha no namae wa akiko desu.
English: My mother's name is Akiko.

Japanese: お名前は？
Romaji: onamae wa?
English: What is your name?

Japanese: 二週間前、どこに行きましたか？
Romaji: ni shuu kan mae, doko ni ikimashita ka?
English: Where did you go 2 weeks ago?

Japanese: あの男は自分の名前さえ書けない。
Romaji: ano otoko wa jibun no namae sae kakenai.
English: That man can not so much as write his name.

Japanese: 用紙の一番下に名前を書け。
Romaji: youshi no ichibanshita ni namae o kake.
English: Write your name at the bottom of the paper.

Japanese: 肉を食べる前に細かく切るべきです。
Romaji: niku o taberu mae ni komakaku kiru beki desu.
English: You should cut up your meat before you eat it.

Japanese: 名前と住所を言ってください。
Romaji: namae to juusho o itte kudasai.
English: Name and address, please.

Japanese: ヨーロッパへ発つ前に君に会いたいモノだ。
Romaji: yo-roppa e tatsu mae ni kimi ni aitai mono da.
English: I would like to see you before I leave for Europe.

Japanese: 地球はおよそ５０億年前に生まれた。
Romaji: chikyuu wa oyoso 50 okunen mae ni umareta.
English: The earth came into existence about five thousand million years ago.

Japanese: 最低１時間前にはカウンターへいらっしゃってください。
Romaji: saitei ichijikan mae ni wa kaunta- e irasshatte kudasai.
English: Please come to the counter at least an hour before your flight.

Japanese: そんなの朝飯前よ。
Romaji: sonna no asameshimae yo.
English: It's a piece of cake! [F]

Japanese: 海部氏は人前で演説することに慣れている。
Romaji: kaifushi wa hitomae de enzetsu suru koto ni narete iru.
English: Mr Kaifu is used to making speeches in public.

Japanese: 店はクリスマス前の土曜日なので混雑していた。
Romaji: mise wa kurisumasu mae no doyoubi na no de konzatsu shite ita.
English: The stores were alive with people the Saturday before Christmas.

Japanese: 母はこの前の日曜日にズボンを２本買ってくれました。
Romaji: haha wa kono mae no nichiyoubi ni zubon o ni hon katte kuremashita.
English: My mother bought me two pairs of pants last Sunday.

Japanese: 決心する前に長所短所についてよく考えなさい。
Romaji: kesshin suru mae ni chousho tansho ni tsuite yoku kangaenasai.
English: Reflect on advantages and disadvantages before you make up your mind.

Look alike kanji

Notes/Mnemonic
Remember: there is a month in there

Many example sentences are from the Tanaka Corpus as modified for use with WWWJDIC.