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N1
〜以前
Meaning
The base meaning is 「以前」 referring to the time before a certain point or event. It expresses temporal precedence, as in 「入社以前」「卒業以前」. Derived from this is a usage in the form 「〜以前の問題だ」「常識以前だ」 that expresses the assessment that something has not even reached the stage of being discussed — that it is a more basic, prior-level problem than that. In this evaluative usage, it concerns not time but a feeling of dismissing the object as being at "a low level not worth discussing."
Examples
- それは入社以前の出来事だ。 That happened before joining the company.
- 二十年以前にはここに川が流れていた。 Twenty years ago, a river used to flow here.
- 礼儀作法以前の問題だ。挨拶すらできていない。 It's an issue that comes before even manners. He can't even greet people.
- それはマナー以前だよ。 That's even more basic than manners.
- 勝つ負ける以前に、彼はまだ練習にすら来ていない。 Before any question of winning or losing, he hasn't even shown up to practice.