In Japanese, 〜前に[mae ni] follows an action that comes “before” another, while 〜後で[ato de] follows an action that comes “after” another. For example:
出かける前に着替えたい 。
Dekakeru mae ni kigae tai.
I want to change before I go out.
朝ごはんを食べた後で、学校に行く。
Asagohan o tabeta ato de gakkō ni iku.
I (will) go to school after I eat breakfast.
In this post, we’ll go over how to use these two endings in sentences, and introduce some other equivalents to “after,” like 〜てから[te kara]. Ready to have a look? Let’s get started!
In Japanese, 〜前に[mae ni] follows something that happens “before” something else. 前[mae] can either mean “in front” (in space) or “before” (in time). When it’s used to talk about time, it’s usually used before the particle に[ni].
In a Japanese sentence, whatever happened “before” always precedes the main action.
What happened “before” + 〜前に[mae ni]
Main action
So in Japanese, you don’t put the main action first!
Before I went to school, I brushed my hair.
I brushed my hair before I went to school.
The ending 〜前に[mae ni] can follow a verb in its dictionary form, a noun + の[no], or a phrase for a duration of time. Let’s look at each possibility in more depth.
Verb
(dictionary form)
〜前に
mae ni
The verb form before 〜前に[mae ni] is always in its dictionary form regardless of the of the main action of the sentence. Be careful about this in the past tense, since it’s quite different from English!
朝ごはんを食べる前に着替える。
Asagohan o taberu mae ni kigaeru.
I (will) change clothes before I eat breakfast.
朝ごはんを食べる前に着替えた。
Asagohan o taberu mae ni kigaeta.
I changed clothes before I ate breakfast.
〜前に[mae ni] can follow a noun for an action (e.g. “jogging”) or event (e.g. “the trip”), as long as you first attach particle の[no] to the noun.
Noun + の[no]
〜前に
mae ni
ジョギングの前にペットボトルに水を入れておこう。
Joggingu no mae ni petto botoru ni mizu o irete okō.
Let’s put water in the bottle before jogging.
旅行の前にレポートを終わらせた。
Ryokō no mae ni repōto o owaraseta.
I finished the report before the trip.
Note that if the noun you use in this construction is a location, a person, or an object, then 〜前に[mae ni] is used to talk about something’s physical position, and so is translated instead as “in front”.
私の前に拓也くんが座った。
Watashi no mae ni Takuya-kun ga suwatta.
Takuya sat in front of me.
When 〜前に[mae ni] is used after an expression of duration like “one year” or “five months,” it is most often translated as “ago”, rather than “before”.
Duration
〜前に
mae ni
この町には一年前に引っ越してきた。
Kono machi ni wa ichi nen mae ni hikkoshite kita.
I moved to this town one year ago.
五ヶ月 前に 大学を卒業した。
Go kagetsu mae ni daigaku o sotsugyō shita.
I graduated from college five months ago.
The duration before 〜前に[mae ni] must contain a number. So, in Japanese, you wouldn’t use this structure to express an idea like “before last year” or “before today.”
❌今日前に
kyō mae ni
before today
❌去年前に
kyonen mae ni
before last year
In some cases, you can use 〜前[mae] without に[ni], and it still means “before.” You can do this when the main verb is an ongoing action or situation that stretches out for some period of time. Usually this will either involve an existence verb or a verb in a continuous form, with an ending like 〜ている[-te iru].
Whatever happened “before”
〜前
mae
Ongoing action / situation
When 前に[mae ni] is used without a preceding word or phrase, it is still usually translated as “before,” but it’s used to discuss whether or not someone has previously had an experience. It doesn’t describe something that happened before something else.
前に日本に行ったことがある。
Mae ni nihon ni itta koto ga aru.
I have been to Japan before.
You can also use 前から[mae kara], which is the independent 前[mae] before the particle から[kara], to mean “for a while” or “since before.” This implies that the action or event started in the past and still continues in the present.
前から考えていたことがある。
Mae kara kangaete ita koto ga aru.
There is something that I have been thinking about for a while.
Depending on the context, 前から can also show “space in front of something”:
邪魔なので、テレビの前からどいてほしい。
Jama na node, terebi no mae kara doite hoshii.
I want (you) to move away from the front of the TV because (you) are in the way.
Now that we have covered the use of the 〜前に[Before…] clause, let’s move on and talk about the 〜後で[After…] clause.
In Japanese, 〜後で[ato de] follows something that happens “after” something else. 後[ato] is a word that means “behind” or “after”, and can be used to talk either about space or time. When it’s used to talk about time, it’s generally followed by the particle で[de] .
When you’re using 〜後で[ato de], the part of the sentence that happens “after” always comes first.
What happened “after” + 〜後で[ato de]
Main action
So in this case, English has more flexibility than Japanese:
After I brushed my hair, I went to school.
I went to school after I brushed my hair.
There are also several other ways to say “after” in Japanese. In the sections below, we’ll first go over how to use 〜後で[ato de], then we’ll talk through some of the others, including:
〜てから[-te kara]
〜後[ato]
〜後に[ anto ni / go ni / nochi ni] → The same spelling, three different readings!
〜後で[ato de] can follow a verb in its -ta form or a noun + の[no]. Let’s look at each case a little more closely!
When the ending 〜後で[ato de] is attached to a verb, that verb is always in its -ta form (past tense).
Verb
ta-form
〜後で
ato de
This is true regardless of the tense of the main action. Be careful about this in the non-past, as it’s quite different from English!
朝ごはんを食べた後で、学校に 行く。
Asagohan o tabeta ato de gakkō ni iku.
I (will) go to school after I eat breakfast.
両親が帰った後で、買い物に出かけた。
Ryōshin ga kaetta ato de, kaimono ni dekaketa.
I went shopping after my parents went home.
〜後で[ato de] can also follow a noun plus the particle の[no]. In this case, the noun must represent an action (e.g. “jogging”) or event (e.g. “the game”).
Noun + の[no]
〜後で
ato de
試合の後でアイスクリームを食べに行く。
Shiai no ato de aisukuriimu o tabe ni iku.
I will go to eat ice cream after the game.
会議の後で報告書を書き直すつもりだ。
Kaigi no ato de hōkokusho o kaki naosu tsumori da.
I intend on rewriting the report after the meeting.
後で[ato de] can be used as an adverb, without anything before it. In this use it means “later” or “afterward”.
後で一緒に遊ぼうね。
Ato de issho ni asobō ne.
Let’s play together later.
Sometimes this adverbial 後[ato] is followed by the particle から[kara] instead of で[de], as in 後から[ato kara]. This adverb can mean either “later” or “behind.”
大丈夫だと思ったのに、後から問題が発生してきた。
Daijōbu da to omotta noni, ato kara mondai ga hassei shite kita.
I thought everything was fine, but then problems arose later.
子犬が後からついてきた。
Koinu ga ato kara tsuite kita.
A puppy followed (me) from behind.
The expression 〜てから[-te kara] is another way to say “after” in Japanese. This ending combines the te-form of a verb with the particle から[kara]. In many situations, both 〜てから[-te kara] and 〜後で[ato de] are interchangeable, but there is a slight difference in their implications.
Using 〜てから[-te kara] places the emphasis on the first action in the sentence:
朝ごはんを食べてから、出かけた。
Asagohan o tabete kara, dekaketa.
I ate breakfast (and then), I went out.
When you use 〜てから[-te kara] there is also an implication that the first action was necessary in order for the second one to happen. So the sentence above sounds like you couldn’t go out until you ate breakfast.
Using 〜後で[ato de] places emphasis on the second action in the sentence:
朝ごはんを食べた後で、出かけた。
Asagohan o tabeta ato de, dekaketa.
I went out after I ate breakfast.
When you use this ending, there is also a looser connection between the two events, you’re just placing them in time, not ordering them in a set process.
〜てから[-te kara] is not used when the main clause expresses something beyond the control of the subject of the sentence. 〜後で[ato de] can be used in this circumstance.
✅ 父が家を出た後で、雨が降った。
Chichi ga ie o deta ato de, ame ga futta.
It rained after my father had left our house.
❌父が家を出てから、雨が降った。
Chichi ga ie o dete kara, ame ga futta.
〜てから[-te kara] also has another use, which 〜後で[ato de] doesn’t have: it can indicate the starting point of a change or continuing state.
✅ この町に住み始めてから、何年経ちましたか。
Kono machi ni sumi hajimete kara, nan nen tachimashita ka.
How many years has it been since you started living in this town?
❌この町に住み始めた後で、何年経ちましたか。
Kono machi ni sumi hajimeta ato de, nan nen tachimashita ka.
Check out this discussion of から[kara] for a point of origin for a point of origin to learn more!
It’s possible to drop the particle で[de] at the end of 〜後で[ato de]. Much like we saw with 〜前[mae], this happens when the main action or situation is ongoing or continues for some time. Often this means it will be an existence verb or a continuous -te iru form.
What happened “after”
〜後
ato
ongoing state / continuing action
父はみんなとお茶を飲んだ後、部屋でずっと寝ています。
Chichi wa min’na to ocha o nonda ato, heya de zutto nete imasu.
After drinking tea with everyone, my father has been sleeping in his room.
お祭りの後、道路にはゴミがたくさん落ちていた。
Omatsuri no ato, dōro ni wa gomi ga takusan ochite ita.
After the festival, a lot of garbage was lying on the street.
The kanji 後 can be read three different ways: [ato], [go], or [nochi]. All of these can be used before the particle に[ni] as a part of time expressions. Let’s look at when you might want to read 〜後に as [go ni] or [nochi ni] instead of [ato ni]!
In everyday life, you will sometimes hear hear native speakers use 〜後に[ato ni] instead of 〜後で[ato de]. These two both mean “after,” and are used in the same grammatical contexts, but there can be a slight difference in meaning:
〜後に[ato ni] is best for describing steps in a process. We usually use this when one thing comes “immediately after” or “right after” another, often when one event leads to another. You might translate sentences like this using “and then.”
お風呂に入った後に、寝た。
Ofuro ni haitta ato ni, neta.
Right after I took a bath, I went to sleep.
花が咲いた後に実がなります。
Hana ga saita ato ni mi ga narimasu.
After the flower blooms, it bears fruit.
〜後で[ato de] is a more general “after,” and tends to be chosen more if there is a longer gap of time. This is more about placing events in time rather than ordering events in a process.
お風呂に入った後で、寝た。
Ofuro ni haitta ato de, neta.
I went to sleep after I took a bath.
❌花が咲いた後で実がなります。
Hana ga saita ato de mi ga narimasu.
(Some time) after the flower blooms, it bears fruit.
What’s the difference between 〜てから[-te kara] and 〜後に[ato ni]? Both are often used for steps in a process and most Japanese native speakers won’t think of them as that different.
However, there is a very slight difference 〜てから[-te kara] implies that the first step must come before the second, 〜後に[ato ni], simply provides the steps that happened this time the process was undertaken.
So, if you want to talk about truly habitual actions, which must always be done in a particular order, it is better to use 〜てから[-te kara] rather than 〜後に[ato ni].
✅ 毎日歯を磨いてから、寝ます。
Mainichi ha o migaite kara, nemasu.
Everyday, I go to sleep after I brush my teeth.
❓毎日歯を磨いた後に、寝ます。
Mainichi ha o migaita ato ni, nemasu.
The reading “go” for 後 is only used when 後 is directly attached to a noun, without の[no] in between. When it’s related to time, it comes after a noun that represents a duration of time and it’s translated as “after…,” “...later,” or “...from now.”
授業後
jyugyō go
after class
夏休み後
natsu yasumi go
after summer break
When this type of construction is used in a sentence, it is never followed by the particle で[de]. Instead it is followed by に[ni], though the particle can sometimes be dropped.
三年後に、この街の人口は半分に減っているだろう。
San nen go ni, kono machi no jinkō wa hanbun ni hette iru darō.
Three years from now, the city's population will probably be halved.
澪が駅に着いたのは、新幹線の発車時刻の10分後だった。
Mio ga eki ni tsuita no wa, shinkansen no hassha jikoku no juppun go datta.
Mio arrived at the station ten minutes after the Shinkansen departure time.
The reading 〜後に[nochi ni] is basically a more formal equivalent of 〜後に[go ni] or 〜後に[ato ni]. It’s used in the same grammatical contexts, and has more-or-less the same meaning, it’s just more formal. You will very often hear [nochi] and [nochi ni] in weather forecasts.
協議の後に、結論を出すことにした。
Kyōgi no nochi ni, ketsuron o dasu koto ni shita.
After discussion, we decided to come to a conclusion.
雨のち晴れ
Ame nochi hare
Sunny after rain
The one place where 〜のち[nochi] and 〜後[ato / go] is that, where 〜後[ato / go] can be used if one thing happened immediately after the other, のち[nochi] is generally not used unless the main event happens a good deal after the noun it marks:
✅彼はすぐ後に来ます。
Kare wa sugu ato ni kimasu.
He will come immediately after.
❌彼はすぐ後に来ます。
Kare wa sugu nochi ni kimasu.
✅5分後に始まります。
Go fun go ni hajimarimasu.
It will start in five minutes.
❌5分後 (のち) に始まります。
Go fun nochi ni hajimarimasu.
In this post, we have explored the endings 〜前に[ mae ni](before) and 〜後で[ato de](after). We also looked at several other ways to say “after,” including 〜てから[-te kara]. Here’s a quick recap of the sentence structures to use with each ending!
Before | |
|---|---|
Verb (dictionary form) | 〜前に mae ni → The particle at the end can be dropped if the main event is a continuous action or a state! |
Noun + の[no] | |
Duration (with a number) | |
After | |
|---|---|
Verb (-ta form) | 〜後で / 〜後に ato de / ato ni → The particle at the end can be dropped if the main event is a continuous action or a state! 後に can be read as [nochi ni], in formal contexts. |
Noun + の[no] | |
Verb (-te form) | 〜から kara |
Duration Noun | 〜後に go ni → 後に can be read as [nochi ni], in formal contexts. |
Ready to practice what you’ve learned? Check out our “before” and “after” activities for Japanese to test your skills! Happy learning!
