Japanese word

午前

Pronunciation

Romajigozen

Meaning

  • nounam, morning

Example

午前九時です。go zen ku ji de su

It is 9 am.

Illustration for 午前 (am)

More examples

今日は午前の授業があります。kyō wa go zen no ju gyō ga a ri ma su

I have a class in the morning today.

午前は図書館で勉強します。go zen wa to sho kan de ben kyō shi ma su

I study at the library in the morning.

Core concept

It identifies a morning time by locating it before the day's midpoint at noon.

Common phrases

  • 午前九時go zen ku ji

    9 am

  • 午前の授業go zen no ju gyō

    morning class

  • 午前の予定go zen no yo tei

    morning plans

Similar words

午前中gozenchū: The period before noon, viewed as a stretch of time rather than a time label.
朝asa: The early part of the day, usually before noon.

Definition in Japanese

一日のうち、正午までに当たる時間。ichi nichi no u chi shō go ma de ni a ta ru ji kan

Word origin

The Sino-Japanese compound 午前 (gozen) combines 午 (go, "noon") with 前 (zen, "before"), expressing the period before noon.

Usage tips

  • Japanese writes 午前 (gozen) before a time, so 午前九時 (gozen kuji) follows a different word order from English 9 AM.

Opposites

Word lists with this word