Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 5: 17/21

(はじ)

Not only...but also..., Starting with

Structure Legend

Structure

Noun + をはじめ(として)
Noun + をはじめとする + Noun

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About をはじめ

When presenting a topic in Japanese as a 'starting point', (はじ) will often be used to show any logic (or planned) progressions from that point. This is often translated as 'not only (A), but (B)', or 'starting with (A), (B)'.
To use (はじ), one noun will be highlighted as the starting point, before another (or several others) will appear in part (B) of the sentence.
  • この会社(かいしゃ)(くるま)(はじ)、ロケットなど(つく)ている
    Not only does this company make cars, but it also makes rockets.
  • (わたし)近所(きんじょ)は、公園(こうえん)をはじめ博物館(はくぶつかん)など、プラネタリウムがある
    Not only is there a park in my neighborhood, but also a museum, and a planetarium.
Due to sentences featuring をはじめ placing emphasis on (A) as a starting point, additional expressions such as として (or とする) will sometimes be paired with it. These structures function to further emphasize (A), and are similar to 'with (A) as the starting point, (B)'.
  • ストリートファッションはアメリカ(はじ)として世界中(せかいじゅう)進出(しんしゅつ)ていく
    With America as the starting point, street fashion spread all over the world.
  • この商品(しょうひん)(たまご)をはじめとする(おお)アレルゲン(ふく)まれている
    Starting with eggs, there are many allergens in this product. (Eggs being the primary allergen)

Examples

  • 東京(とうきょう)をはじめ国内(こくない)観光(かんこう)ツアー()きます。

    I am going on a countrywide tour starting in Tokyo.

  • 日本語(にほんご)をはじめ韓国語(かんこくご)中国語(ちゅうごくご)(まな)びたい。

    Starting with Japanese, I would also like to learn Korean and Chinese.

  • ヨーロッパをはじめ世界(せかい)(じゅう)旅行(りょこう)してみたいです。

    Starting in Europe, I want to travel the world.

  • 先生(せんせい)をはじめ生徒(せいと)たちにも(おし)えてあげてください。

    Please teach teachers, as well as students.

  • パソコンをはじめその(ほか)機器(きき)導入(どうにゅう)するつもりだ。

    I plan to set up various devices, starting with computers.

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をはじめ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

  • eefara

    eefara

    About 4 years ago

    I found this example sentence with the “not only but also” meaning:
    先生をはじめ、生徒たちにも教えてあげてください。
    Could be they snuck it in afterwards.

    Related to this, are there any cues showing which meaning をはじめ is giving to the sentence? Devoid of context, is there any way to tell? For example, the example sentence
    パソコンをはじめ、その他の機器も導入するつもりだ。
    feels like it could go either way, “starting with” or “not only but also”.
    Or this sentence:
    社長をはじめ、社員も皆同じ目標を持ってがんばっています。

    <...
  • Daru

    Daru

    About 1 year ago

    Basically its all going to be computer-related machines! Remember that をはじめ establishes the subject and keeps building on that.

  • Madsgeltingbech

    Madsgeltingbech

    About 1 year ago

    I got this sentence incorrect for typing はもちろん instead of をはじめ.

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