寸前

すんぜん

just before; on the verge of; on the brink of

Also:just in front of

What does 寸前 mean?

寸前 is a Japanese noun meaning just before; on the verge of; on the brink of in English. It can also be translated as just in front of depending on context. It is written as 寸前 in kanji, すんぜん in hiragana, and sunzen in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.

Example sentence

彼の古い車はポンコツ寸前

His old car is on its last legs.