How to Say ‘Ahead of time; earlier’ in Japanese
先に
saki ni
[sah-kee nee]
💬 Usage Tip: [先に] means "beforehand / first" when talking about order of actions: [先に払う] "pay first," [先に聞く] "ask first."
Phrase Breakdown
先
saki
[sah-kee]
before; ahead
Means earlier, beforehand, or ahead in time/order.
先に聞いたほうが安心です。
It is more reassuring to ask beforehand.
に
ni
[nee]
in; at; to
Particle that marks direction, time point, or adverbial use; here it makes 先に mean beforehand.
先に確認します。
I will confirm in advance.
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