Japanese symbol for “antecedents”
前身
ぜんしん
Romaji: zenshin
antecedents; ancestor; previous position; previous existence
In Japanese, antecedents is 前身, read ぜんしん (zenshin).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n antecedents; ancestor; previous position; previous existence; predecessor organization; predecessor organisation
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 名前 | なまえ namae | name |
| 以前 | いぜん izen | before; prior to; ago |
| お前 | おまえ omae | you |
| 前回 | ぜんかい zenkai | previous time; last time; previous installment |
| 午前 | ごぜん gozen | morning; a.m. |
| 当たり前 | あたりまえ atarimae | natural; reasonable; obvious |
| 自身 | じしん jishin | (one's) self; oneself; yourself |
| 出身 | しゅっしん shusshin | one's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “antecedents”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.