Japanese symbol for “anterior”

前側

まえがわ

Romaji: maegawa

front side; anterior

In Japanese, anterior is 前側, read まえがわ (maegawa).

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 front side; anterior

Kanji and stroke order

前

in front, before

on: ゼン
kun: まえ、-まえ

9 strokes · JLPT 4

側

side, lean, oppose

on: ソク
kun: かわ、がわ、そば

11 strokes · JLPT 2

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
側面	そくめん sokumen	side; flank; profile
内側	うちがわ uchigawa	inside; interior; inner part

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.