Japanese word

祖先

Pronunciation

Romajisosen

昔、私たちの祖先はこの村に住んでいました。mukashi watashi ta chi no so sen wa ko no mura ni su n de i ma shi ta

Long ago, our ancestors lived in this village.

私たちは祖先から多くの文化を受け継いでいます。watashi ta chi wa so sen ka ra ō ku no bun ka o u ke tsu i de i ma su

We have inherited much of our culture from our ancestors.

Refers to a person from an earlier generation in one's family line, linking the present with the past.

先祖senzo: A family member from an earlier generation, often used in everyday conversation.

現在の人から見て、家系をさかのぼった過去の世代に属する人。gen zai no hito ka ra mi te ka kei o sa ka no bo tta ka ko no se dai ni zoku su ru hito

The Sino-Japanese compound 祖先 (sosen) combines 祖 (so, "ancestor") with 先 (sen, "before"), expressing an ancestor from an earlier time.

In everyday conversation, 先祖 (senzo) is more common than 祖先 (sosen), while 祖先 (sosen) often sounds more formal or written.