前者・後者

About

前者ぜんしゃ and 後者こうしゃ are nouns that are used similarly to "former" and "latter" in English. 前者ぜんしゃ and 後者こうしゃ are often used to refer to a previous statement or previous information.

E.g. ピカソとゴッホは両方りょうほうとも画家がかだ。前者ぜんしゃはスペイン生うまれ、後者こうしゃはオランダ生うまれだ。 "Picasso and Van Gogh are both artists. The former was born in Spain, while the latter was born in the Netherlands."

E.g. 後者こうしゃより前者ぜんしゃのほうがいい。 "The former is better than the latter."

前者ぜんしゃ and 後者こうしゃ are mainly used in written and formal Japanese.

Summary

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  前者ぜんしゃ and 後者こうしゃ are nouns that mean "former and "latter"

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  前者ぜんしゃ and 後者こうしゃ are mainly used in formal language