prior to death; during one's lifetime
Refers to the period before someone's death, often used in formal or legal contexts. Can function as a noun or adverbially.
A will made prior to his death was discovered.
He completed the work during his lifetime.
Standard kanji spelling.
Variant using 歿 (a less common character for 'death').
Compound of 没 (death) and 前 (before). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows a standard Sino-Japanese pattern.