寸前

Japanese

Kanji in this term
寸	前
すん Grade: 6	ぜん Grade: 2
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɨ̃nd͡zẽ̞ɴ]
• (Tokyo) すんぜん [sùńzéń] (Heiban – [0])

Noun

寸(すん)前(ぜん) • (sunzen) 

1. the verge, the moment just before

   崩壊(ほうかい)寸前(すんぜん) ― hōkai sunzen ― (being on) the brink of collapse

   • 1948, 海野十三, 三十年後の世界:

     それが両国(りょうこく)にもよく分(わか)ったと見(み)えましてね、爆発(ばくはつ)寸前(すんぜん)というところで戦争(せんそう)のおこるのはくいとめられたんです。

     Sore ga ryōkoku ni mo yoku wakatta to miemashite ne, bakuhatsu sunzen to iu tokoro de sensō no okoru no wa kuitomerareta n desu.

     It appeared the two countries understood that very well, and they prevented the outbreak of war when things were on the verge of exploding.

References

• “寸前”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026