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).
前代未聞の事件だ。
This is an unprecedented incident.
前代の社長が築いた基盤を引き継いだ。
He inherited the foundation built by the previous president.
前代の記録を大幅に更新する前代未聞の快挙だった。
It was an unprecedented feat that smashed the previous era's record by a wide margin.
Composed of 前 (previous) + 代 (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 (literally 'unheard of in previous generations'), meaning unprecedented or unheard of.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 前代未聞: unprecedented; unheard of (by far the most common usage)
- 前代の記録: record from the previous era
- 前代の王: the previous king
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 先代: predecessor — specifically the person who held a position before the current holder (family head, shop owner, etc.)
- 前任: predecessor in office — focuses on the role/position rather than the era
- 旧来: traditional, from the past — describes things that have continued from earlier times