午 前(ごぜん)

ごぜん

noun

morning, AM

1. morning, AM

The time from midnight until noon, or the AM hours when telling time.

Please come at 10 AM.

I'm busy in the morning.

The exam is from 9 AM, so let's wake up early.

I have errands in the morning, so could we start the meeting at 1 PM?

I worked in the morning, went to see a movie with a friend in the afternoon, and read a book at home in the evening.

午(ご) means noon, so 午前(ごぜん) is "before noon" and 午後(ごご) "after noon". 午前(ごぜん) comes before the time: 午前(ごぜん)9時(じ) (9 AM), never 9時(じ)午前(ごぜん).

午前中(ごぜんちゅう) covers the whole morning up to noon, while 朝(あさ) is the early part of the day. 午前(ごぜん)12時(じ) is ambiguous (some people mean midnight, some noon), so timetables write 午前(ごぜん)0時(じ) or 正午(しょうご) instead.

午前(ごぜん)