ぜん
Meanings
Noun
1. last (i.e. immediately preceding); previous; ex-; former
2. pre- (e.g. premodern)
before the name of an era
Suffix
3. before
after a noun
Adverb
Noun
Old-fashioned
4. before; earlier
Pitch accent
ぜ
ん
Used in vocabulary (198 in total)
natural; right; proper; naturally; as a matter of course; rightly
frontmost; a short time ago; a little while ago; just now
future; prospects; outlook; journey ahead; distance yet to cover
front part; fore; front
just before; on the verge of; on the brink of; just in front of; just ahead of
one's previous name
continued
Uzen (former province located in parts of present-day Yamagata Prefecture)
previous time; last time; previous installment; previous instalment; previous session
presence (of a nobleman, the emperor, etc.); outrider (person riding horseback in the lead position of a cavalcade); My Lord; My Lady
just before; just prior to; right in front of; just in front of
morning session; morning trading
prior; beforehand; in advance; before the fact; ex ante
front and rear; front and back; before and after; around; about; order; context
before the gate; in front of the gate
last night; the previous night; night before (Christmas, etc.); eve (of festival, major event, etc.)
opening performance; opening act; curtain raiser; minor performer; minor storyteller; subordinate part
front part; frontage; facade; initial pledge (e.g. election); opening slogan
pre-war days; before the war
dispensing with the preliminaries ...; omitting the previous part
before one's eyes
last month; previous month
before the spirit of the deceased
frontal bone (of the skull)
previous mention; mentioning previously
previous line
front of center field; front of centre field
antiquity; the previous era
before one's eyes
(weather) front; front line; the front; battlefront
before one's very eyes; under one's nose; imminence; close at hand
forefoot; forefeet; foreleg; forelimb
while alive; during one's lifetime
first half
the former; the first
precedent
(in the) presence (of); in front (of); before (someone)
omen; portent; sign; presage; harbinger; premonition
previous conviction; criminal record; previous offense; previous offence
aforementioned; above-mentioned
front tooth; foretooth; incisor
hors d'oeuvre; appetizer; appetiser; starter
pre-era; BC; BCE
the preceding year; the previous year; last year
advance payment; money paid in advance
front row
previous remarks
former king; late king
before meals
first term; first half-year; preceding period; early period
previous work; preceding work; previous title; first crop grown in a double-cropped field; preceding crop
front wheel
preliminary step; first step
forward somersault; forward roll
former (incumbent); predecessor
unprecedented; record-breaking
last century; previous century; ancient times; old times
before god; before an altar
the time before last
premodern; old-fashioned; outmoded; antiquated
aforesaid; above-mentioned; said; above
personal history
ex-wife; former wife; previous wife
previous generation; former ages
previous volume
aforementioned; above-mentioned; given above; previous
front seat
preceding fiscal year
prior chapter
premarital; prenuptial
last position; previous job; predecessor
prelude; overture
previous existence
preoperative (preparation, diagnosis, etc.)
front gate
in the face of the enemy; before the enemy
previous; former
prelude; overture
front room; front parlor; lobby; anterior ventricle
the above sentence; the foregoing remark; preamble (to a statute, constitution, etc.); opening part of a letter (used for season's greetings, asking after someone's health, etc.)
preceding clause; previous paragraph; antecedent (of a ratio)
last week; the week before
two days before; day before yesterday
large padded kimono
preceding paragraph; first part
(before a) Buddhist altar; before the Buddha; offering placed on a Buddhist altar; incense money; condolatory offering
Former Han dynasty (of China; 206 BCE-9 CE); Western Han dynasty
last night
predecessor; people of former times
previous writing; first of two books; previous letter
prehistoric age
former opinion
front; forehead
where the wind blows
foreground
premodern times; premodern era
preceding paragraph, section, or verse
before use
previous thread
Rikuzen (former province located in parts of present-day Miyagi and Iwate prefectures)
same as above; ditto; ibid.
front end
unprecedented in history; unheard-of; epoch-making
first half of one's life
(one) before last; two before; two in front (e.g. rows)
previous president (immediately preceding the incumbent); former president
premodern; feudalistic
in front of the customer (guest, visitor, etc.); before the customer
anterograde amnesia
muzzle loading
(one's) previous marriage
prenatal diagnosis; prenatal screening
forehead
previous prime minister (immediately preceding the incumbent); former prime minister; ex-premier
ibid.; the above-mentioned publication
nonreligious wedding ceremony; civil wedding ceremony
prehistory
previous engagement; previous promise
foreshock
former conduct
prefrontal cortex
leading edge (wing, propeller, etc.)
one's previous letter; one's last letter
front-line troops
car in front; the car ahead; preceding car
former post
foothills; first range of mountains
preceding issue (of a magazine, etc.); last issue; preceding item (in a legal text)
the first half-year; first half of the year
two years before
previous page
preceding article; preceding entry
prefrontal cortex
preconscious
previous conviction
loan; advance
forebrain; prosencephalon
before childbirth; prepartum; antepartum
preceding page; anterior pituitary
nonreligious wedding ceremony; civil wedding ceremony
anterior cruciate ligament; ACL
anterior chamber (of the eyes)
(biochemical) precursor
presheaf; anterior layer
foreknowledge; foresight; precognition
pretrial conference procedure; pretrial proceedings
front of the head
premenstrual
(the) aforementioned; previous matter; antecedent
porch; portico; colonnaded entranceway; ante-hall
noninvasive prenatal testing; NIPT
forestomach; anterior stomach; proventriculus
antebrachial bone; forearm bone
wheel tracks left by vehicles that have passed before
subcritical nuclear experiment
plantain seed
anterior cingulate cortex
conditioning regimen (prior to transplantation of bone marrow, stem cells, etc.)
one's former post
former crown prince; the late crown prince
front wheel
one's former address
precancerous lesion
prior to death; during one's lifetime
one's previous doctor
anterior tibial muscle; musculus tibialis anterior
plantain (esp. Asian plantain, Plantago asiatica)
front road; road in front (of a property)
former men of wisdom and virtue
preregistration
rhinitis sicca anterior
anterior cingulate gyrus
preequilibrium process
to repeat someone's mistake; to make the same mistake as one's predecessor; (lit.) to follow the ruts of a previous cart
vestibular bulb; bulb of the vestibule
preimplantation death
prothoracic gland
precancerous state; premalignant state
Buddha prior to Gautama; Gautama Buddha; Shakyamuni
premating isolation
appoggiatura
headlight (on a vehicle)
Suizenji-nori (Aphanothece sacrum; edible freshwater algae grown in Fukuoka prefecture)
premotor area; premotor cortex
previous company (where one worked); previous employer; previous job
premenstrual syndrome; PMS
Examples (4 in total)
I had an abortion two years ago.
He came to Japan two years ago.
She was a Smith before her marriage.