前（まえ、mae）
- front/before

The Japanese word 前, pronounced まえ, primarily means "front," "before," or "previous." It refers to the space in front of something or someone, or a point in time that precedes another. It can also indicate a position, a time, or a certain state.

⚫︎ 家の前 Translation: In front of the house ⚫︎ 一年前 Translation: One year ago ⚫︎ 会議の前に Translation: Before the meeting

⚫︎ 前 is used to indicate spatial relationships, describing something's location relative to another thing. ⚫︎ It can also refer to time, meaning "before" a certain event or time period. ⚫︎ It's often used with particles like に (ni) for "at/in/on," の (no) for possession or relationship, and から (kara) for "from." ⚫︎ Depending on the context, it can refer to a physical location or a point in time.

⚫︎ The kanji for 前 is 前. ⚫︎ It is usually written in hiragana as まえ when used in a sentence with a particle or to indicate a more general meaning, especially for beginners. ⚫︎ The okurigana (suffix hiragana) remains the same.

⚫︎ 先 (saki) - which can mean "ahead" or "the future," and sometimes overlaps with [前] in certain contexts. ⚫︎ 以前 (izen) - which means "before" or "formerly."

⚫︎ 後 (あと/うしろ) - which means "behind" or "after."

駅の［前]に店があります。 ・Translation: There is a store in [front] of the station. ・Explanation: This sentence uses ［前]に to specify the location of the store.

［前]の週に旅行に行きました。 ・Translation: I went on a trip the [previous] week. ・Explanation: Here, ［前]の refers to a point in time, indicating the week before.

The kanji 前 is a combination of two components: the radical 刀 (sword) and the component 舟 (boat). Although the exact etymology is not fully certain, it is believed to originally refer to a person standing in [front] of something.