Lesson 35 · about 5 minutes
In front, behind, next to, above, under
mae · ushiro · tonari · ue · shita
まえ・うしろ・となり・うえ・した
You'll learn five location nouns for where something sits relative to something else.
The words
| Romaji | Japanese | Reading | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mae | まえ | まえ | in front / before | |
| ushiro | うしろ | うしろ | behind / in back | |
| tonari | となり | となり | next to / beside | |
| ue | うえ | うえ | on / above | |
| shita | した | した | under / below |
How they differ
These are place nouns. Pair them with の (no) after a landmark:
「えき の まえ」(eki no mae): in front of the station
「ドア の うしろ」(doa no ushiro): behind the door
「わたし の となり」(watashi no tonari): next to me
「テーブル の うえ」(teeburu no ue): on the table
「いす の した」(isu no shita): under the chair
Then plug into あります / います or どこ:
「トイレは えき の まえ に あります。」(toire wa eki no mae ni arimasu)
まえ can also mean "before" in time later; here focus on place.
Camera angles: front · back · beside · up · down. まえ = front, うしろ = back, となり = side-by-side, うえ = up, した = down.
One line: まえ・うしろ・となり・うえ・した.
Next: Particle micros: に / で / を (ni / de / o) — one clear job each, tied to verbs you know.
See it in a sentence
eki no mae desu
えき の まえ です。
It's in front of the station. (polite)
doa no ushiro ni arimasu
ドア の うしろ に あります。
It's behind the door. (polite)
watashi no tonari desu
わたし の となり です。
It's next to me. (polite)
teeburu no ue ni arimasu
テーブル の うえ に あります。
It's on the table. (polite)
isu no shita desu
いす の した です。
It's under the chair. (polite)
Watch out
まえ (mae) = in front / うしろ (ushiro) = behind うえ (ue) = on / above · した (shita) = under / below となり (tonari) = next to (beside) — not the same as うしろ
Try it
In your next story, find まえ, うしろ, となり, うえ, or した. Say the full 「X の Y」chunk out loud (landmark + location).
Check against the lesson cluster and say it out loud.