before doing; before (a noun)

Mae ni follows a dictionary-form verb or a noun plus no to mean before that event: neru mae ni means before sleeping, shokuji no mae ni means before the meal. The verb before mae ni is always dictionary form, even in past sentences.

Examples

• 寝ねるまえに、本ほんを読よみます。

  Neru mae ni, hon o yomimasu.

  I read a book before going to bed.

• 食事しょくじのまえに、手てを洗あらいます。

  Shokuji no mae ni, te o araimasu.

  I wash my hands before meals.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 寝る to sleep; to go to bed
• 本 book
• 読む to read
• 食事 meal
• 手 hand
• 洗う to wash

Related patterns · Time expressions

• 〜時〜分 telling time (o'clock and minutes)
• 〜時間 / 〜分（時間の長さ） for ... hours / minutes (duration)
• 〜ごろ around, about (a point in time)
• 〜あとで after doing; after (a noun)
• もう already; (with negative) no longer
• まだ still; (with negative) not yet