Translation guide
This English phrase means someone else does something before you can, often taking an opportunity or advantage. In Japanese, it is usually expressed with verbs meaning 'to be beaten to it' or 'to be preempted', rather than a direct passive translation.
Express that someone else did something before you could, often resulting in a lost chance.
Literally 'to have one's lead overtaken'. The most common and natural way to say someone beat you to something.
Focus on the result of being stopped or hindered because someone acted first.
English 'be forestalled' is passive, but Japanese often uses passive forms of verbs like 先を越す or 出し抜く. Do not try to translate 'forestall' directly as a single verb; there is no exact equivalent.
He forestalled me and took the good idea.
We were forestalled by our rival company again.
Implies being outwitted or outmaneuvered, often with a nuance of cunning. Slightly stronger than 先を越される.
I was forestalled by a colleague and missed the promotion opportunity.
A formal, literary expression meaning 'to be preempted'. Used in strategic or competitive contexts.
We were forestalled by the enemy, and the operation failed.
We were forestalled by the opponent and couldn't do anything.
Means 'to be nipped in the bud' or have one's initial attempt thwarted. Common in everyday speech.
I was about to object, but he forestalled me.