kouen he iku mae ni, kodomo no kubi ni musiyoke wo nurimasita.

Because Vる + 前に means before doing V.

So:

• 行く前に = before going
• not before went

This is a very common pattern in Japanese:

• 寝る前に = before going to bed
• 食べる前に = before eating
• 出かける前に = before going out

Even though the whole sentence is in the past, the verb before 前に usually stays in the plain non-past form because it describes the action that had not happened yet at that point.

前に means before.

In this sentence, it connects two actions:

1. going to the park
2. applying insect repellent

So 公園へ行く前に means before going to the park.

A useful way to remember it:

• X 前に Y = Y before X

So here:

• 公園へ行く = go to the park
• その前に = before that
• 子供の首に虫よけをぬりました = applied insect repellent to the child’s neck

Both へ and に can be used with verbs of movement like 行く.

• 公園へ行く = go toward/to the park
• 公園に行く = go to the park

The difference is small here:

• へ emphasizes direction
• に emphasizes destination

In everyday Japanese, both are natural in this kind of sentence. So this is not a major meaning difference.

の links two nouns together.

Here:

• 子供 = child
• 首 = neck
• 子供の首 = the child’s neck

This is the normal way to show possession or association in Japanese.

Other examples:

• 私の本 = my book
• 犬の耳 = the dog’s ears
• 先生の車 = the teacher’s car

So 子供の首に means on/to the child’s neck.

Here に marks the place where the repellent was applied.

• 首にぬる = apply/spread onto the neck

With ぬる, the thing being applied takes を, and the place/body part often takes に:

• 薬を手にぬる = apply medicine to the hand
• クリームを顔にぬる = apply cream to the face

So in this sentence:

• 虫よけを = insect repellent
• 子供の首に = onto the child’s neck

Because 虫よけ is the thing being applied.

The verb ぬる means to spread/apply something on a surface or body part. The thing you apply is the direct object, so it takes を.

• 日焼け止めをぬる = apply sunscreen
• 薬をぬる = apply medicine
• 虫よけをぬる = apply insect repellent

So:

• 虫よけを = the thing applied
• 首に = where it was applied

ぬりました is the polite past form of ぬる.

• dictionary form: ぬる
• polite non-past: ぬります
• polite past: ぬりました

In this sentence, ぬる means to apply/spread something like cream, lotion, medicine, or repellent.

So 虫よけをぬりました means applied insect repellent.

A learner should note that ぬる does not only mean to paint. It is also very commonly used for putting something on the skin.

虫よけ literally means insect repellent.

It is a broad word and does not by itself specify the exact form. Depending on context, it could be:

• spray
• lotion
• cream
• roll-on type repellent
• another anti-bug product

Because the verb is ぬる, this sentence suggests a repellent that can be applied/spread on the skin, rather than sprayed into the air.

So the product is understood as something topical.

Because Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is understood from context.

The sentence does not explicitly say:

• I applied it
• we applied it
• the mother applied it

It just says that the action happened.

From context, many people would naturally understand that the speaker or someone responsible for the child applied the repellent. But grammatically, the subject is omitted because Japanese does this very often when the subject is obvious or not important.

It could be either, depending on context, but in this sentence it is most naturally read as a child or the child.

Japanese nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural:

• 子供 can mean child or children

Context tells you which one is intended.

Because the sentence says 子供の首 (the child’s neck), singular feels more natural here, but Japanese itself does not force that distinction as clearly as English does.

Japanese does not use articles like the and a, and it often leaves possession unstated if context makes it clear.

So:

• 公園 could be the park or a park
• 子供 could be the child, my child, our child, or just a child, depending on context

This is very normal in Japanese. English requires those choices more often, but Japanese often does not.

That means when translating into English, you usually have to add details that are only implied in Japanese.

Yes. 首 is the normal word for neck.

So:

• 子供の首に虫よけをぬる = apply insect repellent to the child’s neck

That is completely natural Japanese. It focuses specifically on the body part where the repellent was put.

If the sentence instead said something like 子供に虫よけをぬりました, that could sound more general, as if you applied repellent to the child without specifying exactly where.

The sentence follows normal Japanese order: background information first, main action later.

Breakdown:

• 公園へ行く前に = before going to the park
• 子供の首に = on the child’s neck
• 虫よけを = insect repellent
• ぬりました = applied

So the structure is roughly:

[Before doing X], [place/target], [object], [verb].

Japanese often puts time expressions and setting information before the main verb, with the verb at the end.

Yes. The polite past form ぬりました could be changed to the casual past form ぬった.

Casual version:

公園へ行く前に、子供の首に虫よけをぬった。

Meaning stays the same. The difference is just style:

• ぬりました = polite
• ぬった = casual/plain

Everything else in the sentence can stay the same.