Expressions また 今こん 度ど another time; some other time 今こん 日にち では nowadays; these days; in this day and age 今こん 是ぜ 昨さく 非ひ complete reversal of values or thinking over time; realizing and regretting past errors Related words 本 and 今 are both formal prefixes meaning 'this/current', but 本 is typical in business and official language (本日 , 本件 ) while 今 covers broader time spans like eras or seasons (今世紀 , 今シーズン ).
現 emphasizes the present ongoing state of something (現状 , 現在 ) whereas 今 as a prefix marks the current specific instance of an event or period (今国会 , 今世紀 ).
今日 is the independent everyday word for 'today', while 今 (こん ) as a prefix appears only inside formal compounds referring to today's instance of something, like 今暁 or 今般 .
Opposites 旧 as a prefix means 'former, old' (旧校舎 , 旧姓 ), the opposite of 今 's sense of 'current, this' (今シーズン , 今国会 ).
Word family· 52 this time; now; on this occasion
this time; this occasion; now · next time; another time; soon · recently; lately; the other day
from now on; hereafter; in the future
hello; good day; good afternoon
this evening; tonight
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this month
good evening
this season; the current season
these days; nowadays; recently
tonight; this evening
this term; this period; current session
this fiscal year; this school year; this year
ancient and modern times; all ages; past and present
this summer; next summer; last summer
this century
this autumn; this fall
this spring; spring this year
this winter; next winter; last winter
past and present; ancient and modern
this life; this world
now; nowadays; the present time
the present day; the present age; nowadays
now; recently; this time
this season
this world; this life · this generation; present day
present-day people; people of this world
this work; this title · modern work not based on old styles
this issue; this number
one's present self
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Etymology The kanji 今 means 'now' or 'present'. The reading こん is the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading), used in many compounds to indicate the current or present instance of something.
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