LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Sep 30, 2026

Before and after in Japanese: 〜前まえに takes the dictionary form, 〜後あとで takes た

"Before" is 〜前まえに after the dictionary form (寝ねる前まえに), and "after" is 〜後あとで after the た-form (食たべた後あとで) — the two forms are mirror images, and swapping them is the classic mistake.

English gets away with "before sleeping" and "after eating" using the same -ing form on both sides. Japanese does not. The verb in front of 前まえに and the verb in front of 後あとで have to be different forms, and the reason is simple enough to say in one sentence, which is why this page is short on theory and long on examples.

The basics

How do you say "before doing something" in Japanese?

Put the dictionary form of the verb in front of 前まえに. That is the whole rule.

寝ねる前まえに、歯はを磨みがきます。 — I brush my teeth before going to bed. (polite, daily routine) 出でかける前まえに、電気でんきを消けしてください。 — Please turn off the lights before you go out. (polite request)

Here is the part that trips people up: the verb in front of 前まえに stays in the dictionary form even when the whole sentence is in the past. The tense lives in the main clause, at the end of the sentence. The part before 前まえに is just "the thing that comes later."

寝ねる前まえに、歯はを磨みがいた。 — I brushed my teeth before going to bed. (casual, past tense at the end only)

The logic: the thing after 前まえに hadn't happened yet at the moment you are talking about, so it is in the "not yet done" form. 寝ねた前まえに is wrong. If you can only remember one line from this article, remember that one.

How do you say "after doing something"?

Put the た-form of the verb in front of 後あとで. It is the mirror image: the thing before 後あとで is already finished, so it wears the completed form.

ご飯はんを食たべた後あとで、コーヒーを飲のみます。 — After I eat, I drink coffee. (polite, habit) 宿題しゅくだいが終おわった後あとで、ゲームをしてもいいですか。 — May I play games after I finish my homework? (polite question)

Same rule as before, flipped: the tense at the end of the sentence can be anything, but the verb before 後あとで is always the た-form. 食たべる後あとで is wrong. When you say a habit in the present tense, the た-form still stays.

What about nouns?

With a noun, add の and then 前まえに or 後あとで. No verb form to worry about at all.

食事しょくじの前まえに、手てを洗あらいます。 — I wash my hands before the meal. (polite) 授業じゅぎょうの後あとで、質問しつもんしてもいいですか。 — May I ask a question after class? (polite, at school)

This is the easy pattern, and it is good to lean on when you feel unsure. If you can name the event with a noun (食事しょくじ, 授業じゅぎょう, 仕事しごと, 試験しけん), you can skip the verb-form question entirely. The way to make a permission question like the one above is covered in 〜てもいいですか.

Here is the whole pattern in one table

Pattern Form before it Example Meaning
〜前まえに dictionary form 寝ねる前まえに before sleeping
〜後あとで た-form 食たべた後あとで after eating
Nの前まえに noun + の 食事しょくじの前まえに before the meal
Nの後あとで noun + の 授業じゅぎょうの後あとで after class
〜てから て-form 食たべてから after (and then) eating
〜ないうちに ない-form 冷さめないうちに before it gets cold

Beyond the basics

Is 後あとで the same as 〜てから?

They overlap a lot, but the feeling is different. 〜てから stresses the order: "first this, and then, starting from there, that." 〜後あとで just places one event after another on the timeline. In many everyday sentences either works.

シャワーを浴あびてから、寝ねます。 — I take a shower and then go to sleep. (polite, a sequence) シャワーを浴あびた後あとで、寝ねます。 — I go to sleep after taking a shower. (polite, similar meaning)

The details, plus where てから is the only natural choice, are in 〜てから: how to say "after doing" in Japanese. For this article, remember that てから takes the て-form and 後あとで takes the た-form.

What happens with 前まえ and 後あと when there is a time amount?

Attach a number and a time unit, and 前まえ and 後あと turn into "ago" and "later."

3日前にちまえに、ここに来きました。 — I came here three days ago. (polite) 2時間後じかんごに、電話でんわします。 — I will call in two hours. (polite, counted from now)

No verb-form rule here at all, because there is no verb in front. 前まえ counts backward from now, 後あと counts forward. The full picture of "ago" expressions is in how to say "days ago" in Japanese.

Can 前まえに stand alone as "before" or "before now"?

Yes. On its own, 前まえに means "before" in the sense of "at an earlier time," and 前まえに〜たことがある is the natural way to say you have done something before.

前まえに、この店みせに来きたことがあります。 — I have been to this shop before. (polite) その前まえに、ちょっと話はなしてもいい? — Before that, can I talk for a second? (casual, "before that")

The same works with 後あとで: あとで alone means "later," as in あとで電話でんわします, "I will call you later." And その後あと means "after that / afterwards."

What are 以前いぜん and 以後いご?

They are the formal, written cousins. 以前いぜん means "before (a point in time)" or "previously." 以後いご means "after (a point in time)" or "from now on."

以前いぜんは、この機械きかいを使つかっていました。 — I used to use this machine. (formal, written or business tone) 以後いご、気きをつけます。 — I will be careful from now on. (formal, an apology or a promise)

You will read these on signs, in notices, and in business emails more than you will hear them in casual talk.

What about "before it gets cold" or "before it is too late"?

When the thing hasn't happened yet and you want a negative meaning, Japanese uses 〜ないうちに: "while it is still not the case that."

冷さめないうちに、食たべてください。 — Please eat it before it gets cold. (polite, serving food)

Anime uses 〜する前まえに a lot for lines about doing something before a deadline or a big moment, and the "before X happens" version keeps the dictionary form the same way as everywhere else.

Is 前まえ also a place?

Yes. 前まえ is also the physical "front," and in that case it has nothing to do with time.

駅えきの前まえで、待まっています。 — I am waiting in front of the station. (polite, place) 駅えきの前まえに、大おおきい木きがあります。 — There is a big tree in front of the station. (polite, place)

You tell the two meanings apart by the word before の. 駅えき is a place, so 駅えきの前まえ is a location. 食事しょくじ is an event, so 食事しょくじの前まえ is a time. For the other position words that work like this (上うえ, 下した, 中なか, 横よこ), see Japanese position words.

Common mistakes

  • Putting the past tense before 前まえに. 寝ねた前まえに is wrong, even in a past-tense sentence. It is 寝ねる前まえに、歯はを磨みがいた.
  • Putting the dictionary form before 後あとで. 食たべる後あとで is wrong. It is 食たべた後あとで.
  • Using まだ〜ていない before 前まえに. "Before I have done X" is just 〜前まえに in Japanese: 食たべる前まえに. The idea of "not yet" is already inside 前まえ. If you want to say "I have not done it yet," use まだ〜ていません — see already and still in Japanese.
  • Forgetting the の with nouns. 食事しょくじの前まえに is the safe default. You will also hear 食事しょくじ前まえに, 試合前しあいまえに and similar short forms, but adding の always works. (食前しょくぜん and 食後しょくご, as on medicine labels, are a set written-word shortcut.)
  • Mixing up 後あとで and 後うしろ. 後あとで is about time ("after"). If you mean the physical "behind," the word is 後うしろ.

FAQ

Is 前まえに always the dictionary form? Yes, when a verb comes before it. The tense of the sentence shows up only in the main clause at the end. 寝ねる前まえに歯はを磨みがいた is correct even though the brushing is in the past.

Can I say 食たべる後あとで? No. Before 後あとで the verb is always the た-form: 食たべた後あとで. The idea is that the first action is already finished.

What is the difference between 後あとで and 〜てから? 後あとで simply puts one event after another. 〜てから stresses the order, "first this, then from there, that." In everyday speech you can swap them in many sentences, but てから feels more like a step in a sequence.

How do I say "before" with a noun, like "before the meal"? Use the noun + の + 前まえに: 食事しょくじの前まえに. Same for "after": 食事しょくじの後あとで.

Does 3日前にちまえ mean "three days ago" or "three days before"? Both, depending on the sentence. With nothing else attached, 3日前にちまえに来きました means "I came three days ago." With a reference point, 試験しけんの3日前にちまえ means "three days before the exam."

Is 以前いぜん the same as 前まえに? Close, but 以前いぜん sounds formal and is more common in writing. In conversation, 前まえに is more natural.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 1 and 2 are a pair, and so are questions 3 and 4 — the same idea with the verb form flipped.

1. Say "I brush my teeth before going to bed." Which form goes before 前まえに?

Show answer

寝ねる前まえに、歯はを磨みがきます — the dictionary form 寝ねる goes in front of 前まえに.

2. Say "I drink coffee after I eat." Which form goes before 後あとで?

Show answer

食たべた後あとで、コーヒーを飲のみます — the た-form 食たべた goes in front of 後あとで. This is the mirror image of question 1.

3. What is wrong with 寝ねた前まえに、歯はを磨みがいた?

Show answer

寝ねた is the past form, but 前まえに needs the dictionary form. The correct sentence is 寝ねる前まえに、歯はを磨みがいた. The tense lives at the end of the sentence.

4. What is wrong with 食たべる後あとで、寝ねます?

Show answer

食たべる is the dictionary form, but 後あとで needs the た-form. The correct sentence is 食たべた後あとで、寝ねます. The first action is already finished, so it wears the completed form.

5. Say "I wash my hands before the meal" using a noun.

Show answer

食事しょくじの前まえに、手てを洗あらいます — noun + の + 前まえに. No verb form to think about.

6. Say "May I ask a question after class?" using a noun.

Show answer

授業じゅぎょうの後あとで、質問しつもんしてもいいですか — noun + の + 後あとで, followed by a permission question.

7. Say "I came here three days ago."

Show answer

3日前にちまえに、ここに来きました — with a time amount, 前まえ becomes "ago." There is no verb in front of 前まえ to conjugate.

8. Say "Please eat it before it gets cold."

Show answer

冷さめないうちに、食たべてください — for a negative "before X happens," use ない-form + うちに.

9. A learner writes 駅えきの前まえに、大おおきい木きがあります and thinks it means "before the station." What does it actually mean?

Show answer

"There is a big tree in front of the station" — 駅えき is a place, so 前まえ means "front" here. With an event like 食事しょくじ, 前まえ means "before."

10. Which is more formal: 前まえに or 以前いぜん? And which means "from now on": 以前いぜん or 以後いご?

Show answer

以前いぜん is more formal, and 以後いご means "from now on." They are written or business words. 以後いご、気きをつけます means "I will be careful from now on."

The tense trap in 寝ねる前まえに and 食たべた後あとで shows up the moment you describe your own day, so walk through your routine in a trial lesson and have each verb form checked.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

前に	まえに — before
後で	あとで — after; later
寝る	ねる — to sleep, to go to bed
歯を磨く	はをみがく — to brush one's teeth
食べる	たべる — to eat
食事	しょくじ — meal
授業	じゅぎょう — class, lesson
宿題	しゅくだい — homework
冷める	さめる — to get cold
駅	えき — station
以前	いぜん — previously, before (formal)
以後	いご — from now on, after (formal)
電気	でんき — electric light
手	て — hand

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, where the tense trap shows up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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