# 初 — first time; beginning

初 means “first time; beginning”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 7 strokes. On'yomi: ショ (sho). Kun'yomi: はつ (hatsu), はじ(め) (hajime). You'll see it in words such as 初 (hatsu, “first; new”).

- Meaning: first time; beginning
- On'yomi: ショ (sho)
- Kun'yomi: はつ (hatsu), はじ(め) (hajime)
- Strokes: 7
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Time 1

## How to remember 初

A knife (刀) to the cloth (衤): the very first step in making clothes.

Parts: 衤 clothes · 刀 knife

## Words with 初

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 初 | はつ (hatsu) | first; new |
| 初め | はじめ (hajime) | beginning; start |
| 初めて | はじめて (hajimete) | for the first time |

## More in the “Time 1” set

[期](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/period/) · [続](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/continue/) · [初](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/first-time/) · [予](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/beforehand/) · [際](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/occasion/) · [昨](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/yesterday/) · [歳](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/years-old/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/first-time/. Last updated 2026-11-01.