前ぜん年ねん

ぜ

ん

ね

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

the previous year; last year

Used in formal, business, or statistical contexts to refer to the year immediately before the current one. Often appears in reports, comparisons, and news articles. Unlike 去年 (きょねん), it is not typically used in casual conversation.

前ぜん年ねんの売うり上あげを上うわ回まわった。
Sales exceeded those of the previous year.
前ぜん年ねん比ひで5％増ぞう加かした。
It increased by 5% compared to the previous year.

See all 86 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

前ぜん年ねんより〈数かず〉増ふえるto increase by a certain amount compared to the previous year
今こん年ねんの売うり上あげは前ぜん年ねんより10パーセント増ふえた。
Sales this year increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year.
前ぜん年ねんに比くらべて〈事こと〉in comparison with the previous year, ~
前ぜん年ねんに比くらべて輸ゆ出しゅつ額がくが大おおきく伸のびた。
Export figures rose significantly compared to the previous year.

Kanji

前in front, before
年year, counter for years

Related words

去きょ年ねんN5
去年 is the everyday, spoken word for 'last year', while 前年 is a formal term used in reports, statistics, and written business language.
昨さく年ねんN3
昨年 and 前年 are both formal, but 昨年 simply means 'last year' relative to now, while 前年 usually refers to the year before a specific reference point mentioned in the text.
前ぜん年ねん度ど
前年 refers to the previous year in a general calendar sense, while 前年度 specifically means the preceding fiscal year.

Opposites

翌よく年ねんN3
翌年 means 'the following year' relative to a reference point, the direct opposite of 前年, which means 'the year before' that point.

Word family

前ぜん年ねん度ど
preceding fiscal year; previous fiscal year
前ぜん年ねん比ひ
year-on-year; compared to the previous year
前ぜん年ねん割われ
year-on-year decline; fall below the previous year's level
前ぜん年ねん同どう月げつ
same month last year; year-ago month
前ぜん年ねん同どう期き
same period last year; corresponding period of the previous year

Etymology

Compound of 前 (ぜん, 'before') and 年 (ねん, 'year').