前代(ぜんだい)

ぜんだい
noun
previous generation; former era; predecessor's reign
formaltime-period
1. previous generation; former era; earlier times
Refers to the generation, era, or period that came before the present one. Most commonly encountered in the four-character compound 前代未聞 (unprecedented).
前代未聞(ぜんだいみもん)の事件(じけん)だ。
This is an unprecedented incident.
前代(ぜんだい)の社長(しゃちょう)が築(きず)いた基盤(きばん)を引(ひ)き継(つ)いだ。
He inherited the foundation built by the previous president.
前代(ぜんだい)の記録(きろく)を大幅(おおはば)に更新(こうしん)する前代未聞(ぜんだいみもん)の快挙(かいきょ)だった。
It was an unprecedented feat that smashed the previous era's record by a wide margin.

Composed of 前(ぜん) (previous) + 代(だい) (generation, era). While it can refer to a preceding generation or era in a general sense, in modern Japanese it appears overwhelmingly in the fixed expression 前代未聞(ぜんだいみもん) (literally 'unheard of in previous generations'), meaning unprecedented or unheard of.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 先代(せんだい): predecessor — specifically the person who held a position before the current holder (family head, shop owner, etc.)
  • 前任(ぜんにん): predecessor in office — focuses on the role/position rather than the era
  • 旧来(きゅうらい): traditional, from the past — describes things that have continued from earlier times

Related Words

Compare: 先代(せんだい) (predecessor)
Compare: 前任(ぜんにん) (predecessor in office)
Compare: 旧来(きゅうらい) (traditional, from the past)
general
Added 2026.4.9 5:30 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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