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Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 4

before, front

Meaning
before, front
On reading
Kun reading
Memory hook

Horns, then 月, then a knife: trimming whatever is in front of you. ゼン in compounds, まえ on its own.

Words that use 前

front, before
a.m.

How to write 前

Stroke order · 9 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
  1. 1. The diagonal down to the right.
  2. 2. The sweep down to the left.
  3. 3. Horizontal.
  4. 4. Vertical.
  5. 5. Horizontal, then turn down, ending in a hook.
  6. 6 to 7. Horizontal.
  7. 8. Vertical.
  8. 9. Vertical, ending in a hook.

Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

General rules
  • Top to bottom, left to right.
  • Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
  • Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
  • A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
  • Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).

前 is taught on day 9 of the kanji course, alongside , with two writing passes and a short quiz.