The front and the rear; the spatial relation of before and behind.
車の前後にコーンが置かれている。
Cones are placed in front of and behind the car.
写真は前後がわかりにくいので、矢印で向きを示してください。
The photo makes it hard to tell front from back, so please indicate the orientation with an arrow.
列車の前後で乗客の出口が違う。
The exits for passengers differ at the front and rear of the train.
Before and after in time; the period immediately preceding and following an event.
事故の前後は駅の周辺が大混雑していた。
The area around the station was very crowded before and after the accident.
会議の前後に資料を配布します。
I'll distribute the materials before and after the meeting.
引っ越しの前後は荷物の整理で忙しい。
One is busy organizing belongings around the time of moving.
Used after a quantity, age, time, etc., to mean 'about' or 'approximately' (e.g., 10 minutes or so).
会議は30分前後で終わる予定です。
The meeting is expected to finish in about 30 minutes.
参加者は20人前後になりそうだ。
The number of participants will probably be around 20.
彼は年齢的に三十代前後に見える。
He looks to be around his thirties.
Order or context; the sequence or relationship between events or parts (e.g., the context before and after).
文章の前後関係を確認して意味を取り直した。
I reinterpreted the meaning after checking the context before and after the sentence.
発言の前後を聞けば、誤解が解けることが多い。
Listening to the surrounding remarks often clears up misunderstandings.
Consequences; the results or effects that follow an event.
その決定の前後で会社の業績に大きな差が出た。
There was a big difference in the company's performance as a consequence of that decision.
ミスの前後にはフォローが必要だ。
Follow-up is necessary before and after a mistake (i.e., to deal with its consequences).
Just when; around the time of — indicating the immediate time around an event.
出発の前後に雨が降り出した。
It started to rain just around the time of departure.
試験の前後は勉強に集中していた。
I was concentrating on studying just before and after the exam.
Inversion or reversion; a state where the order is reversed or things become out of order.
説明の順番が前後して、聞いていた人が混乱した。
The order of the explanation got mixed up and the listeners were confused.
時系列が前後しているので、データを整理し直してください。
The chronology is out of order, so please reorganize the data.
Co-occurrence; events happening around the same time or overlapping (often seen as 前後して).
別のトラブルが前後して発生し、対応が大変だった。
Another problem occurred around the same time, so dealing with them was difficult.
新しいシステムの導入と同時期に前後して人事異動があった。
Around the same time as the introduction of the new system, there were personnel changes.