tea ceremony procedures; skill at serving tea
Refers to the formalized steps and etiquette of preparing and serving matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony. Often used in the context of tea ceremony lessons.
茶道教室でお手前を習っています。
I'm learning tea ceremony procedures at a tea ceremony class.
Only when written お手前
General skill or cleverness in doing something, often with one's hands. Restricted to the お手前 spelling. Less common than 腕前 (うでまえ) in modern Japanese.
彼の料理のお手前はなかなかのものだ。
His skill at cooking is quite something.
you (archaic, between samurai of equal rank)
Only when written お手前
Archaic second-person pronoun used mainly between samurai of equal status. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
「お手前、いかがなされた」と侍が言った。
"You, what happened?" said the samurai.
彼女のお手前はとても美しい。
Her way of serving tea is very beautiful.
手前 can mean 'before oneself' or be used as a humble first-person pronoun. お手前 is the polite prefixed form with distinct tea ceremony and archaic pronoun meanings.
Standard spelling for tea ceremony procedures and the archaic pronoun. Also used for the general skill sense.
Alternate spelling specifically for tea ceremony procedures, using 点 (to prepare tea).
Polite prefix お + 手前 (てまえ, 'before one's hand; skill; oneself'). The tea ceremony sense developed from the idea of performing procedures before a guest. The archaic pronoun usage likely derived from a deferential reference to the person in front.