other N5 common casualpolitewritten

前 — front / before (noun)

前・まえ

Meaning

① front / in front of (space): front / the area in front of ~ — a location noun, used with の to mark position

② before / ago (time): before / ~ ago — a point earlier in time, as a noun (三年前さんねんまえ, 前まえの日ひ)

前まえ is a noun meaning 'front' in space and 'before/ago' in time. As a place word it takes の (駅えきの前まえ); as a time word it follows a duration (三年さんねん前まえ) or の-noun (食事しょくじの前まえ). To say 'before doing X' with a verb clause, you need 前まえに — that connective is its own pattern.

Key sentence

① front / in front of (space)

駅えきの前まえで待まっています。

I'm waiting in front of the station.

② before / ago (time)

三年さんねん前まえに日本にほんへ来きました。

I came to Japan three years ago.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Noun + の + 前; duration + 前	N の前 / 〜時間じかん・年ねん前	店みせの前まえ / 一週間いっしゅうかん前まえ

Examples

① front / in front of (space)

家いえの前まえに車くるまが止とまっている。

There's a car stopped in front of the house.

前まえを見みて歩あるきなさい。

Look ahead (in front) when you walk.

② before / ago (time)

前まえに一度いちど会あったことがあります。

I've met you once before.

授業じゅぎょうの前まえに予習よしゅうする。

I prepare before class.

Easily confused with

前に Bare 前まえ is the noun ('front', 'ago'); 前まえに is the temporal connective 'before ~ing', which takes a dictionary-form verb (食たべる前まえに). 前から前まえ names the time point; 前まえから adds から to mean 'from (that) time on / for a while now' — a starting point, not just the point itself.

Notes

Opposite location/time noun is 後うしろ (behind, space) / 後あと (after, time). For 'in front of' as position, で marks the action site, に the existence site: 前まえで待まつ / 前まえにある.

See 前 in real sentences

Jengo shows 前 the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

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