始(はじ)めるTo start, To begin to

To express that actions are beginning or ending in Japanese, the verbs 始(はじ)める (to commence), or 終(お)わる (to end) will need to be used. In this lesson, we will focus on actions that are 'beginning'.

To say that (A) is starting/beginning, we will need to attach はじめる to the ます stem of almost any verb. Whether you use the hiragana form, or the kanji form does not matter, as there will be no change in nuance.

Due to はじめる being a verb itself, the tense can be changed, to show that something will start, is starting, or has started.

Caution

It can be easy to accidentally use 始(はじ)まる, the intransitive form of this verb. However, with this expression, the transitive form will always be used, due to the verb that はじめる is attached to being the thing that 'is started', by 'something' else.