Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 5: 18/22

(はじ)Not only...but also..., Starting with

Structure

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

Details

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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.

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)'.

Examples

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    スーツ(はじ)、シャツや(くつ)(あたら)しくした。

    Starting with a suit, I also upgraded my shirts and shoes.

    小説(しょうせつ)(はじ)(ほん)なら(なん)でも()みます。

    Starting with short novels, I read all kinds of books.

    (いぬ)(はじ)様々(さまざま)動物(どうぶつ)()うようになった。

    Starting with dogs, I have come to raise various animals.

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

    I am going on a countrywide tour starting in Tokyo.

    ヨーロッパ(はじ)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.

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      をはじめ – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

      • eefara

        eefara

        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

        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

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

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