手前

Compound of Old Japanese elements 手 (te, “hand”) +‎ 前 (mae, “front”), originally meaning “that which is just in front of one's hand”.[1][2][3]

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) てまえ [tèmáé] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [te̞ma̠e̞]

手前 (hiragana てまえ, rōmaji temae, historical hiragana てまへ)
(alternative reading hiragana てめえ, romaji temē)

1. position that is just in front or before; in the nearer position

   あの店 (みせ)は交 (こう)差 (さ)点 (てん)の手前 (てまえ)にある。

   Ano mise wa kōsaten no temae ni aru.

   That store is just in front of / just before the intersection.

手前 (hiragana てまえ, rōmaji temae, historical hiragana てまへ)

1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch

More commonly pronounced as and written in hiragana as てめえ (temē).

• (distant): 奥 (おく) (oku)

Alteration of temae. The vowel shift emphasizes the confrontational sense of the term.[2][3] Compare おめえ (omē, from お前 (omae)), ねえ (nē, from ない), やべえ (yabē, from やばい (yabai)).

• てめぇ, てめぇー, てめェー

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) てめえ [tèméé] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [te̞me̞ː]

手前 (hiragana てめえ, rōmaji temē)

1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch

   手 (て)前 (めえ)は殺 (ころ)してやる！

   Temē wa koroshite yaru!

   I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!

This is one of the ruder, more confrontational Japanese terms for you. Rough, often used in anger. Often pronounced and written as てめえ (temē).

• 2000, Jonathan Bunt, Gillian Hall, The Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary, First Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN