Expressions 先さき ほどから since some time ago; for a while now 爪つめ の 先さき ほど a tiny amount; a wee bit; to a slight degree Related words 先刻 is a literary, old-fashioned way of saying 'a short while ago', while 先ほど is the standard polite word still commonly used today.
先ほど and ただいま (sense 3) are both formal ways to say 'a moment ago', with 先ほど slightly more common in business writing and speech.
先ほど refers specifically to 'a little while ago' and sounds more polite, while 先に covers a broader range of past time as well as 'first' and 'beforehand.'
Don't confuse with 先ほど refers to minutes or hours ago (very recent), while 先日 refers to a somewhat more distant past such as a few days ago.
先程 shares the kanji 先 and sounds similar but means 'a while ago' (the recent past), the opposite time direction from 先々 's 'the future ahead'.
お先に means 'ahead/before (in order)', whereas 先程 means 'a little while ago (in time)'; learners sometimes confuse them because both start with 先 .
Written forms 先さき ほど Usage 82%
Standard modern spelling; ほど is usually written in kana.
先さき 程ほど Usage 9%
Alternate kanji form; less common than 先ほど but still seen.
さきほど Usage 9%
Etymology Compound of 先 (saki, 'before') and 程 (hodo, 'extent, time'). The kana spelling ほど for the second element became standard in modern usage.
Report an issue with this page
Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
