The Meaning of sensengetsu [先先月] In Japanese
先先月
せんせんげつ
Romaji: sensengetsu
N5
What does 先先月 mean?
Translation and Meaning
the month before last, two months ago
Definition
What does 先先月 mean? It means the month before last; a time expression referring to the month two months prior to the current one. It is used in both spoken and written Japanese to anchor past dates.
Type
temporal noun (名詞, 時間を表す)
Stroke Order
Meanings
- The calendar month two months prior relative to now, used to anchor past events.
- Neutral register suitable for everyday conversation, journalism, and formal writing.
- Related to other temporal terms such as 今月, 先月, 来月, and 再来月 to describe relative months.
Composition
- 先 — means ‘previous’ or ‘before’ in time expressions
- 々 — a repetition mark that repeats the preceding kanji, here signaling two occurrences of 先
- 月 — month
Usage
Used to indicate a past time frame two months before the current month; appropriate in both casual conversation and formal writing. It is typically used when recounting events with a specific month reference and appears in calendars, schedules, and reports.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: the 々 repeats 先, doubling the step back in time — two months back to the month before last.
Variations
- 先月 (sengetsu) — last month
- 今月 (kongetsu) — this month
- 来月 (raigetsu) — next month
- 再来月 (saraigetsu) — the month after next
Example Phrases
-
先先月、同僚と新しいカフェでランチに行きました。sensengetsu, douryou to atarashii kafe de ranchi ni ikimashita.Two months ago, I went to lunch at a new cafe with a colleague.Lista:
- 先先月 (sensengetsu) – the month before last
- 同僚と (douryou to) – with a colleague
- 新しい (atarashii) – new
- カフェで (kafe de) – at a cafe
- ランチに (ranchi ni) – for lunch
- 行きました (ikimashita) – went
Tempo: 「先先月」 significa o mês anterior ao último (dois meses atrás).
