noun:

• front and back; before and behind; before and after

prefix:

• small; narrow ➜ 小川
• familiar prefix ➜ 小野
• slightly; a bit ➜ 小暗い

suffix:

• -ness (nominalizing suffix, esp. of sensory or subjective adjectives) - also written with the ateji 味 ➜ 甘み
• nominalizing suffix indicating location ➜ 深み
• (as ...mi ...mi) alternating between ... and ... ➜ 降りみ降らずみ

adverb / expression:

• before or since; neither before nor after; no other time in one's life; stressing a particular moment or event as being unique or most extreme

noun:

• a show; blood-stained mucus discharge that happens during pregnancy up to two weeks before delivery ➜ 破水
• signature mark (crest) used by members of the Imperial family to mark their belongings
• a sign (with honorific 'o') ➜ しるし

noun:

• the year before a critical age; the year before an inauspicious year ➜ 厄年

expression:

• pride goes before a fall; pride comes before a fall; the proud Heike family does not last long [literal] - proverb

expression:

• pride goes before a fall; pride comes before a fall; the proud Heike family does not last long [literal] - proverb ➜ 奢る平家久しからず【おごるへいけひさしからず】

expression:

• putting the cart before the horse; putting the diapers on before (the baby) is born [literal] - idiom

expression / adverb:

• before one knew it; before one realized it ➜ 知らない間に

noun:

• life-sized doll used for masturbation - From English "Dutch wife"
• cage (rattan or cane) used in bed in the tropics
• bolster used for warmth when sleeping

expression:

• counting one's chickens before they've hatched; counting raccoon dog skins before they have been caught [literal] - idiom

suffix:

• derogatory suffix (referring to others) - derogatory term
• humble suffix (referring to oneself) - humble language

expression:

• it's always darkest before the dawn; the darkest hour is just before the dawn

noun:

• words used when miserable or anxious - archaism - obsolete term
• words used to decline or refuse something - archaism - obsolete term
• words used when making an appeal - archaism - obsolete term

noun:

• (before a) Buddhist altar; before the Buddha
• offering placed on a Buddhist altar; incense money; condolatory offering - oft. as 御~

prefix:

• honorific/polite/humble prefix - usu. before a term with an on-yomi reading - honorific language - polite language - humble language ➜ 御【お】

suffix:

• honorific suffix - after a noun indicating a person - honorific language

prefix / suffix:

• honorific affix - affixed to a word related to the emperor - honorific language

prefix:

• honorific prefix - honorific language

~の noun / noun:

• already finished being used; second-hand; no longer used

noun / ~の noun:

• used (e.g. used car)

pronoun:

• I; me
• oneself ［われ・わ］
• you ［われ・わ］ - archaism

prefix:

• prefix indicating familiarity or contempt ［わ］ - also 和 - archaism

godan ~つ verb / intransitive verb:

• to lead; to take the lead (in doing something)
• to precede; to go before; to take precedence
• to die before (esp. one's spouse, parents, etc.)
• to be a prerequisite

noun / ~する noun:

• spending one night ahead (e.g. at a hotel near the airport the night before catching a flight); spending the night before ➜ 後泊【こうはく】

noun:

• zun (ancient Chinese wine vessel, usu. made of bronze)

prefix:

• honorific prefix referring to the listener - archaism - honorific language

suffix / counter:

• counter for buddhas

adverb:

• before the week is out; before the week is over; within the week; sometime this week