初

There are two ways to pronounce a Kanji - the onyomi (音読み) and the kunyomi (訓読み). Onyomi is similar to the Chinese pronunciation, and kunyomi is the Japanese pronunciation. A Kanji normally has two to three pronunciations, and some can have up to a dozen. In general, there are no rules regarding which pronunciation should be used, so memorization seems to be the only way.

Today we look at the following Kanji:

The various pronunciations are はつ, しょ and うい (there may be more.) The meanings associated with this Kanji are "the first", "the beginning", "the early stage".

Examples:
初恋 (はつこい) = one's first love
初耳 (はつみみ) = the first time I heard about this
最初 (さいしょ) = in the beginning, at first
初学者 (しょがくしゃ) = a beginner
初孫 (ういまご) = one's first grandchild
初産 (ういざん) = one's first childbirth