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How to Say ‘From the beginning’ in Japanese

最初から

saisho kara

[sigh-shoh kah-rah]

💬 Usage Tip: [最初から] means starting over from the beginning, not just "at first." It's a useful set phrase when you want someone to re-explain step by step.

Phrase Breakdown

最初

saisho

[sigh-shoh]

the beginning (part)

最初 means “the beginning.” With から it becomes “from the beginning.”

Example

最初 からもう一回お願いします。

Please do it one more time from the beginning.

から

kara

[kah-rah]

from

から marks the starting point: “from.” In 最初から it means “from the start.”

Example

最初 から分かりませんでした。

I didn’t understand from the start.

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