What is the Kanji for "Begin"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Begin", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Begin" is "始".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Haji".

Its onyomi reading is "Shi".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "女" means "Woman" and can be read as "Jo", "Nyo", "Onna", and "Me". And The kanji "台" means "Pedestal" and "Machine" and can be read as "Dai" and "Tai".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "始" mean in japanese?

"始" means "Begin".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

始める: "Start". The Japanese verb '始める (はじめる)' means 'to start'. This verb is used to indicate the beginning of an action or state. It can be used with a variety of subjects, such as a person, an event, or a process. For example: I started reading the book - (本を始めて読んだ). Let's start the meeting - (会議を始めましょう).

始まる: "Start". The Japanese verb '始まる (はじまる)' means 'to start'. It is used to indicate the beginning or commencement of an action, event, or process. For example: The concert will start at 7pm - (コンサートは7時に始まります). The school year begins in April - (学年は4月に始まる).

始め: "Start". The Japanese noun '始め (はじめ)' means 'start'. This noun refers to the initial point or stage of something, the beginning of a process, event, or activity. It is often used to indicate the commencement of an action or the first stage of a sequence. For example: The start of the race - (レースの始め). At the start of the meeting - (会議の始めに).

開始: "Start". The verbal noun '開始 (かいし)' means 'start'. This term refers to the beginning or commencement of an action, event, or process. It is often used in formal contexts to indicate the launching or initiation of something, such as a meeting, a new project, or a scheduled activity. For example: The meeting will start at 10 am - (会議は10時に開始します). We need to start the project as soon as possible - (このプロジェクトは早めに開始する必要があります).

始めに: "First". The adverb '始めに (はじめに)' means 'first'. It is used to indicate that something happens or should happen before anything else. It expresses the idea of being the first in a sequence of events or actions. For example: First, let's eat - (始めに食べましょう). I'll do it first - (始めにそれをします).

始終: "Always" or "Constantly". The adverb '始終 (しじゅう)' means 'always' or 'constantly'. It is used to describe something that happens or continues without interruption. For example: He always helps his mother - (彼は母親を始終手伝っている). She is constantly busy - (彼女は始終忙しい).

始発: "First". The noun '始発 (しはつ)' means 'first' and refers to the earliest departure of a train, bus, or other mode of transportation. It connotes the earliest or earliest possible service that a transportation system provides. For example: The first train leaves at 5:30am - (始発の電車は午前5時30分に出発します).

始末: "Disposal" or "Settlement". The noun '始末 (しまつ)' has two main meanings. The first meaning refers to the disposal, winding up or bringing to a conclusion of a matter or situation. This could include disposing of waste or finishing up a task. The second meaning refers to the settlement or handling of an issue, such as dealing with a problem or resolving a conflict. For example: I need to take care of the disposal of the garbage - (ごみの始末をしなければなりません). She settled the dispute between the two parties - (彼女は両者の争いを始末した).

始まり: "Beginning". The noun '始まり (はじまり)' refers to the start or commencement of something. It indicates the point in time when an event, process or activity begins. For example: The beginning of the school year - (学年の始まり). The start of the meeting - (会議の始まり).

年始: "New year". The Japanese noun '年始 (ねんし)' refers to the beginning of the new year, typically encompassing the first few days or weeks of January. It is a time when many Japanese people engage in traditional new year's activities, such as visiting shrines, exchanging greetings, and enjoying special foods. For example: On new year's, I visit the shrine - (年始に神社に参拝します). The new year's holiday is an important time for families in Japan - (年始は日本の家族にとって大切な時期です).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "し" is read as "shi". The hiragana "は" is read as "ha". And The hiragana "じ" is read as "ji".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.