手前

Japanese

Kanji in this term
手	前

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [te̞ma̠e̞]

Noun

手前 (hiragana てまえ, romaji temae)

1. position that is just in front or before; in the nearer position

   あの店は交差点の手前にある。

   あのみせはこうさてんのてまえ｀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, romaji temae)

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

• (distant): 奥 (おく, oku)

Etymology 2

Alteration of temae. The vowel shift emphasizes the confrontational sense of the term. Compare English son of a bitch.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [te̞me̞ː]

Pronoun

手前 (hiragana てめえ, romaji temē)

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

   手前は殺してやる！

   てめえはころしてやる！
   Temē wa koroshite yaru!

   I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!

Usage notes

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

References

• The Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary. ISBN 0-19-860197-2