前 — before, front, previous
まえ
前
before
Grade 2
Japanese school grade level in which this kanji is taught. Grade 1 is first year of elementary school.
9 strokes
time
direction
U+524D
Unicode hex codepoint — a unique identifier for this character in the Unicode standard.
Freq #27
Frequency rank among the ~2,500 most common kanji in Japanese newspapers. Lower number = more common.
Heisig #290
Index in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" — a popular textbook that teaches kanji through mnemonics and stories.
Meanings
- before
- front
- previous
word
まえ mae Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).
せん ・ぜん sen On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).
前
回
zenkai
last time
午
前
gozen
morning
前
後
zengo
front and back
前
半
zenhan
first half
直
前
chokuzen
just before
前
日
zenjitsu
previous day
前
年
zennen
previous year
前
方
zenpou
front
前
作
zensaku
previous work
目
前
mokuzen
before one's eyes
前
線
zensen
front line
前
記
zenki
aforementioned
前
夜
zenya
the previous night
生
前
seizen
during one's lifetime
事
前
jizen
prior
前
進
zenshin
advance
前
者
zensha
the former
前
期
zenki
first half
前
年
度
zennendo
previous fiscal year
前
面
zenmen
front
以
前
izen
before
戦
前
senzen
prewar
最
前
線
saizensen
front line
紀
元
前
kigenzen
B.C.
前
例
zenrei
precedent
前
提
zentei
premise
前
述
zenjutsu
aforementioned
前
編
zenpen
first part
大
前
提
daizentei
major premise
前
衛
zenei
vanguard
寸
前
sunzen
just before
前
項
zenkou
preceding paragraph
Components
Composed of
Used as component in (1)
Compound ideograph (会意). Originally combined 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat), meaning to advance. The modern form shows 丷 + 月 + 刀. Before, front.