| term | pronunciation | English |
|---|
| 前 | まえ、ぜん | before |
| 以前 | いぜん | before; ago; (long) since; the past; former time |
| 午前 | ごぜん | morning (before noon) |
| 前半 | ぜんはん | first half |
| 名前 | なまえ | name |
| 前夜 | ぜんや | last night |
| ‾年前 | ‾ねんまえ | ~years before |
| 〜年前 | 〜ねんまえ | ~years before |
| 建前 | たてまえ | principle, theory |
| 前後 | ぜんご | around, throughout, front and back |
| 前方 | ぜんぽう | front |
| 直前 | ちょくぜん | just before |
| 前者 | ぜんしゃ | the former |
| 前代未聞 | ぜんだいみもん | unheard-of; unprecedented |
| 前進する | ぜんしんする | to advance, to go aead, to march forward |
| 前進 | ぜんしん | advance, drive, progress |
| 駅前 | えきまえ | in front of a (train) station |
| 事前 | じぜん | prior, beforehand, in advance |
| 前世紀 | ぜんせいき | last century, ancient times |
| 前例に倣う | ぜんれいにならう | to follow (copy after) a precedent |
| 前倒し | まえだおし | acceleration (of payment schedule) |
| 前傾 | ぜんけい | forward inclination (tilt) |
| 前兆 | ぜんちょう | omen, portent, sign, premonition, harbinger |
| 前厄 | まえやく | the year before a critical age |
| 前向き | まえむき | facing forward, front-facing, positive |
| 前哲 | ぜんてつ | former men of wisdom and virtue |
| 前回 | ぜんかい | last time, last installment, last instalment, last session |
| 前夜祭 | ぜんやさい | the eve (of festival) (e.g. Christmas Eve) |
| 前奏曲 | ぜんそうきょく | prelude, overture |
| 前年 | ぜんねん | the preceding year, the previous year, last year |
| 前年度 | ぜんねんど | preceding fiscal year |
| 前後矛盾 | ぜんごむじゅん | self-contradiction, self-inconsistency |
| 前払い | まえばらい | payment in advance, prepayment |
| 前掲 | ぜんけい | above-named |
| 前提 | ぜんてい | preamble, premise, reason, prerequisite, condition, assumption, hypothesis |
| 前方後円墳 | ぜんぽうこうえんふん | keyhole-shaped tumulus (form of ancient Imperial grave) |
| 前日 | ぜんじつ, まえび | previous day, the day before |
| 前栽 | せんざい | garden, trees and flowers in a garden |
| 前栽物 | せんざいもの | greens, vegetables |
| 前立腺肥大症 | ぜんりつせんひだいしょう | enlargement of the prostate |
| 前肢 | まえあし, ぜんし, ぜんきゃく | forefoot, forefeet, foreleg, forelimb |
| 前菜 | ぜんさい | relishes, hors d'oeuvres, smorgasbord |
| 前述 | ぜんじゅつ | aforementioned, above-mentioned |
| 前途 | ぜんと | future prospects, outlook, the journey ahead |
| 前途遼遠 | ぜんとりょうえん | goal, destination |
| 前項 | ぜんこう | preceding paragraph |
| 墓前 | ぼぜん | in front of a grave |
| 寸前 | すんぜん | on the verge, just in front of |
| 嵐の前の静けさ | あらしのまえのしずけさ | calm before a storm |
| 昼前 | ひるまえ | forenoon, just before noon |
| 梅雨前線 | ばいうぜんせん | seasonal rain front |
| 江戸前 | えどまえ | Tokyo style |
| 目の前 | めのまえ | before one's eyes, immediate, imminent |
| 目前 | もくぜん | before one's very eyes, under one's nose, imminence, close at hand |
| 眼前 | がんぜん | before one's eyes |
| 紀元前 | きげんぜん | pre-era, BC, BCE |
| 腕前 | うでまえ | ability, skill, facility |
| 錠前 | じょうまえ | lock |
| 門前払い | もんぜんばらい | turning another away at the gate or front door, refusing to receive a caller |