VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

午前

ごぜん

hepburn gozen

morning, AM

Part of speech · noun

Pattern visualization

前front

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Examples

会議は午前十時からです。
The meeting is from 10 a.m.
午前中に終わります。
It'll finish before noon.

Collocations

午前 (gozen, morning / a.m.)午前中 (gozenchuu, during the morning)午前様 (gozensama, coming home after midnight)午前0時 (gozen reiji, midnight on the 24h clock)午前の部 (gozen no bu, morning session)

Mnemonic

午前 gozen — 午 (noon) + 前 (before) = before noon = a.m. The kanji matches Korean. Etymology of 午: in the Chinese sexagenary cycle, 午 = the Horse and noon (the Horse hour). Same 午 appears in 午年 (umadoshi, Year of the Horse) and 端午 (tango, the Boys' Day / Dano festival). One kanji spans time, zodiac, and festival — a cross-cultural anchor.

Quick check

Idiomatic meaning of 午前様?