King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “prequel”

Romaji: zenpen
first part (of a book, film, etc.); first volume

In Japanese, prequel is , read (zenpen).

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

  1. n first part (of a book, film, etc.); first volume
  2. n prequel

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

in front, before
on: ゼン
kun: まえ、-まえ
9 strokes · JLPT 4
compilation, knit, plait
on: ヘン
kun: あ.む、-あ.み
15 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “prequel”

WordReadingMeaning
ぜんじつたん zenjitsutanprequel
ぜんじつだん zenjitsudanprequel; retrospective talk; (a) retrospective

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
なまえ namaename
いぜん izenbefore; prior to; ago
おまえ omaeyou
ぜんかい zenkaiprevious time; last time; previous installment
ごぜん gozenmorning; a.m.
あたりまえ atarimaenatural; reasonable; obvious
へんしゅう henshuuediting; compilation
へんせい henseicomposition; formation; organization

See also: Chinese symbol for “prequel”.

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.

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