前者
ぜんしゃ · zensha · JLPT N3 · noun
former
前者 = before (前 zen) + one (者 sha): the one mentioned before
前 means before or front, and 者 means person or thing. Together: the one that came first, i.e. the former. Its partner is 後者 (kōsha, the latter): 後 means after.
前 — top 丷 + 一 + 月 (moon) + 刂 (knife)
Originally written 歬, depicting a foot 止 above a boat 舟, meaning to advance or go forward. Over time the form evolved and the knife radical 刂 was added, while 止 and 舟 fused into the modern shape. The core meaning 'front, before, ahead' has stayed consistent.
者 — old/elder 耂 + say 曰
Originally depicted sugarcane or a similar plant, but the form was reanalyzed as 耂 (old) over 曰 (say). It became a grammatical suffix meaning 'one who…' or 'the…thing,' nominalizing verbs and adjectives. Today 者 mainly marks agents or categories, as in 学者 'scholar' or 记者 'reporter.'