手前

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
手 前
て
Grade: 1		 まえ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of Old Japanese elements 手 (te, “hand”) +‎ 前 (mae, “front”), originally meaning “that which is just in front of one's hand”.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

Noun

手前 (hiragana てまえ, rōmaji temae, historical hiragana てまへ)

  1. position that is just in front or before; in the nearer position
    あの店 (みせ)は交 (こう)差 (さ)点 (てん)の手前 (てまえ)にある。
    Ano mise wa kōsaten no temae ni aru.
    That store is just in front of / just before the intersection.

Pronoun

手前 (hiragana てまえ, rōmaji temae, historical hiragana てまへ)

  1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch
Usage notes

More commonly pronounced as and written in hiragana as てめえ (temē).

Antonyms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
手 前
て
Grade: 1		 まえ > めえ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alteration of temae. The vowel shift emphasizes the confrontational sense of the term.[2][3] Compare おめえ (omē, from お前 (omae)), ねえ (nē, from ない), やべえ (yabē, from やばい (yabai)).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Pronoun

手前 (hiragana てめえ, rōmaji temē)

  1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch
    手 (て)前 (めえ)は殺 (ころ)してやる！
    Temē wa koroshite yaru!
    I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!
Usage notes

This is one of the ruder, more confrontational Japanese terms for you. Rough, often used in anger. Often pronounced and written as てめえ (temē).

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1 2 3 4 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • 2000, Jonathan Bunt, Gillian Hall, The Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary, First Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
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