Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
Wild Nihongo!
~はじめる

~はじめる

~はじめる Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Auxiliary Verb (Group 2)

Essential Meaning: Begin to

Construction: 

  • Verb ます-Form + 始はじめる
    • E.g. 話はなし始はじめる [X begins to speak]
    • E.g. 食たべ始はじめる [X begins to eat]

Notes:

  • ~始はじめる means that someone or something begins some action (e.g. “Begin to read“) or begins to be in some state (e.g. “Begin to strengthen“).
  • ~始はじめる implies that the subject is beginning some action that will take places over a span of time. Thus, ~始はじめる is typically used with durative verbs such as 読よむ [To read], 書かく [To write], or 見みる [To see]. However, if the subject is plural, punctual verbs can be used in certain contexts.
    • E.g. *マークが会場かいじょうに着つき始はじめました。[Mark began to arrive at the meeting room.] “Arrive” is a punctual word; it takes place instantaneously. Therefore, it does not make sense to say that Mark “began to arrive”.
    • E.g. 人々ひとびとが会場かいじょうに着つき始はじめました。[People began to arrive at the meeting room.] Although individuals arrive instantaneously, the plurality of people arrives over a period of time. Thus, this sentence is acceptable.
  • ~始はじめる conjugates as a Group 2 verb (i.e. 始はじめない, 始はじめます, 始はじめれば, 初はじめて, et cetera).
  • ~始はじめる can be changed into an honorific form by using お~になる.
    • E.g. Regular Form: 先生せんせいは本ほんを書かき始はじめた。[The teacher began to write a book.]
    • E.g. Honorific Form: 先生せんせいはご本ほんをお書かきになり始はじめた。/ 先生せんせいはご本ほんを書かき始はじめになった。[The teacher began to write a book.]

Example Sentences:

明日あしたからレポートを書かき始はじめる。[I’ll begin writing the report tomorrow.]

私わたしは八月はちがつから源氏物語げんじものがたりを読よみ始はじめました。[I began reading The Tale of Genji from August.]

日本にほんの経済けいざいは１９６４年ねんの東京とうきょうオリンピックのころから強つよくなり始はじめた。[Around the time of the 1964 Olympics, Japan’s economy began to strengthen.]

A: いつから切きってを集あつめ始はじめたんですか。B: 子供こどものときから集あつめ始はじめました。[A: Around when did you begin to collect stamps? B: I began to collect stamps when I was a child.]

WILD Examples:

Listen to this line at 1:19: 君きみが全然ぜんぜん全部ぜんぶなくなって散ちり散ぢりになったって、もう迷まよわないまたいちから探さがし始はじめるさ [Even if you completely disappear and get torn to pieces, I won’t lose my way, I’ll start searching for you again from square one]
The first line of this song goes line this: 降ふり始はじめた雪ゆきは足跡あしあとを消けして [The snow that has just begun falling is erasing my footprints]

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