Nihoner
表層形
建前
タテマエ
名詞

建前 (タテマエ)

Tatemae · たてまえ — face, official stance, public position or attitude (as opposed to private thoughts); ceremony for the erection of the framework of a house

Other ways to say “face” in Japanese →

建前 in rōmaji: tatemae.

名詞 普通名詞 一般 *
📝 建て前 🔤 * 📐 *
Updated: 2026年8月14日
📖 Grammar Information
表層形 (Surface)
建前
見出し語 (Lemma)
建て前
読み (Reading)
タテマエ
品詞 (POS)
名詞・普通名詞・一般・*
活用型 (Conj. Type)
*
活用形 (Conj. Form)
*
表記 (Orthography)
建前
読み・基本形
タテマエ
表記・基本形
建前
見出し語の読み
タテマエ
💡 English Meaning

建前 means “face, official stance, public position or attitude (as opposed to private thoughts); ceremony for the erection of the framework of a house” — full definition & examples →

⭐ Dictionary Form

建て前 (タテマエ) — main entry →

🃏 Flashcard — Test Yourself
Can you read this?
建前
👆 Tap to reveal reading & info
Reading & Info
タテマエ
Lemma: 建て前
名詞普通名詞一般*
👆 Tap to flip back
💡
Did you know · 名詞
名詞 (nouns) are the backbone of Japanese sentences. They can be combined with particles like が, を, に, で to indicate grammatical role.
🔍 Explore More Words
語
❓ About this entry
What is the difference between surface form and lemma? ▼
The surface form (建前) is the exact text as it appeared in the corpus — it may be conjugated or inflected. The lemma (建て前) is the dictionary base form. For example, 食べた (surface) has the lemma 食べる.
What does the reading (pron) field mean? ▼
The reading shows the pronunciation in hiragana or katakana as recorded by UniDic. For kanji entries this is the standard reading of this specific surface form — which may differ from other readings of the same kanji.
What is UniDic? ▼
UniDic is a comprehensive Japanese lexicon developed by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL). It provides detailed morphological information for modern Japanese words, used in NLP tools like MeCab.
How do I save this entry? ▼
Click the ★ save button in the word card above (you need to be logged in). Saved entries appear in your personal Saved Dictionary page for quick review later.