始め

Japanese

Kanji in this term
始
はじ Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
初め 一め (rare)

Etymology

Nominal form of verb 始める (hajimeru, “to begin something”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) はじめ [hàjímé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠ʑime̞]

Noun

始(はじ)め • (hajime) 

1. (especially 初め) beginning, the start of an activity or time period

   始(はじ)めよければ終(お)わりよし。

   Hajime yokereba owari yoshi.

   A good beginning makes a good ending.

2. (especially 始め) origin, beginning of a thing

Synonyms

• 始(はじ)まり (hajimari)
• 冒頭(ぼうとう) (bōtō)

Antonyms

• 結末(けつまつ) (ketsumatsu, “conclusion”)
• 終(お)わり (owari, “ending”)
• 終(お)え (oe, “ending”)

Interjection

始(はじ)め • (hajime) 

1. begin! used to announce the start of a race, an exam, and others

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.