前

Stroke order

EtymologyEdit

Ideogram (指事) – relatively complex, a boat (舟, now simplified to 月) headed forwards, onward (the top was originally 止, now simplified to 䒑).

Han characterEdit

前 (radical 18 刀+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 廿月中弓 (TBLN), four-corner 8022₁, composition ⿱䒑刖)

1. in front, forward
2. preceding

Derived charactersEdit

• 揃, 箭, 剪, 煎, 椾, 偂, 媊, 葥, 翦, 湔, 鎆

ReferencesEdit

• KangXi: page 140, character 15
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2011
• Dae Jaweon: page 318, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 248, character 4
• Unihan data for U+524D

---

HanziEdit

前 (Jyutping cin4, Yale chin4)

---

KanjiEdit

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

ReadingsEdit

• Goon: ぜん (zen)
• Kan’on: せん (sen) (non-Jōyō reading)
• Kan’yōon: ぜ (ze) (non-Jōyō reading)
• Kun: まえ (mae), さき (saki) (non-Jōyō reading)

Etymology 1Edit

From Old Japanese as a compound of 目 (ma, “eye”) +‎ 方 (he, “direction, -wards”).^[1][2]

/mape/ > /maɸe/ > /mawe/ > /mae/

PronunciationEdit

• Kun'yomi
• ま​え (Atamadaka)^[3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ma̠e̞]

NounEdit

前 (hiragana まえ, historical hiragana まへ, romaji mae)

1. the front
2. the past

SuffixEdit

前 (hiragana まえ, romaji -mae)

1. a portion, an amount

   六人 (ろくにん)前 (まえ)の御膳 (ごぜん)

   rokunin-mae no gozen

   a banquet for six people

Etymology 2Edit

From Old Japanese. Cognate with 崎 (saki, “a (geographical) point, where the land sticks out into the water”).^[1]

PronunciationEdit

• Kun'yomi
• さき (Heiban)^[3]
• IPA^(key): [sa̠ki]

NounEdit

前 (hiragana さき, romaji saki)

1. Alternative spelling of 先: the tip of something; ahead, in front; before, earlier, the past; afterwards, the future; the destination of a motion or action

Usage notesEdit

This sense is much more commonly spelled 先. See that entry for more details.

Etymology 3Edit

From Middle Chinese 前 (dzen). Compare modern Mandarin 前 (qián).

PronunciationEdit

• On'yomi
• ぜ​ん (Atamadaka)^[3]
• IPA^(key): [zẽ̞ɴ]

CounterEdit

前 (hiragana ぜん, romaji -zen)

1. counter for irregularly shaped objects such as desks, armrests, and serving trays
2. counter for kami and shrines

PrefixEdit

前 (hiragana ぜん, romaji zen-)

1. the last, the previous
2. pre- (of an era)

Etymology 4Edit

Contraction of 御前 (ごぜ) (goze), itself a contraction of 御前 (ごぜん) (gozen), an honorific form of address.^[1][2]

PronunciationEdit

• Kan'yōyomi
• IPA^(key): [ze̞]

SuffixEdit

前 (hiragana ぜ, romaji -ze)

1. (rare) an honorific suffix added to a noun denoting a person

   尼 (あま)前 (ぜ)

   ama-ze

   (honorable) nun

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
4. ^ 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0

---

HanjaEdit

前 (jeon) (hangeul 전, revised jeon, McCune-Reischauer chŏn)

1. front (direction)
2. before

---

PronunciationEdit

• audio

  (file)

HanziEdit

前 (Pinyin qián (qian2), shā (sha1), Wade-Giles ch'ien², sha¹)

---

Han characterEdit

前 (tiền, tèn)