How to say "Before" or "Previously" in Japanese | 以前

If you are wondering what's the Japanese word for "Before" or "Previously" you've come to the right place!

the Japanese word for "Before" or "Previously" is "Izen", written in japanese as "以前".

Here's a more detailed explanation:

The Japanese noun '以前 (いぜん)' refers to a time or period before a specific point in the past. It is often used to indicate something that happened prior to a certain event or time. For example: I lived in Tokyo before「以前、東京に住んでいました」(いぜん、とうきょうにすんでいました). This situation was different previously「以前はこの状況は違いました」(いぜんはこのじょうきょうはちがいました). The word can also be used to compare past and present states, emphasizing a change over time.

The Kanji are characters that represent meanings. As you can see, this word is made up of 2 Kanji:

The kanji "以" means "By means of" and can be read as "I". And The kanji "前" means "Before" and "Front" and can be read as "Zen" and "Mae".

Now, let's make sure you understand this word the other way around too.

What does "Izen" mean in japanese?

"Izen" means "Before" or "Previously" .

To learn more about the kanji in this word, checkout this pages:

To make really sure you learn this word, We've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this word and of the characters that comprise it.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "い" is read as "i". The hiragana "ぜ" is read as "ze". The hiragana "ん" is read as "n". The hiragana "ま" is read as "ma". And The hiragana "え" is read as "e".

About kanji, you need to know that most Kanji have two types of readings: Kunyomi, based on native japanese pronunciation. And onyomi, based on chinese pronunciation.