先せん々せん週しゅう

せ

ん

せ

ん

しゅ

う

Meanings

1

the week before last

Refers to the week immediately preceding last week. Can be used as a noun or adverbially.

先々せんせん週しゅう、京きょう都とへ旅りょ行こうに行いきました。
I went on a trip to Kyoto the week before last.
その映えい画がは先々せんせん週しゅう見みました。
I saw that movie the week before last.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

先before, ahead, previous
週week

Opposites

再さ来らい週しゅうN4
先々週 means 'the week before last', while 再来週 means 'the week after next' — they mirror each other on opposite sides of the current week.

Don't confuse with

先せん週しゅうN5
先週 means 'last week' (the week right before this one), while 先々週 means 'the week before last', one week further back — learners often mix them up because of the similar spelling.

Written forms

先せん々せん週しゅう
Standard kanji spelling using the iteration mark 々.
先せん先せん週しゅう
Alternative spelling without the iteration mark; less common but still used.

Etymology

Compound of 先 (previous) reduplicated with the iteration mark 々, plus 週 (week). The reduplication shifts the time reference one step further back.