Translation guide
How to express doing something for the first time in Japanese, including common adverbs and sentence patterns.
The speaker is doing something they have never done before.
The most common and versatile way to say 'for the first time'. It is an adverb that can be used with any verb.
I came to Japan for the first time.
I ate sushi for the first time.
A pattern meaning 'It is the first time to do ~'. The verb before のは is in the dictionary form.
It's my first time going abroad.
It's the first time I've been this nervous.
Used to describe a first experience or thing. N is a noun.
Describing an event or situation that has not occurred before, or not for a long time.
Means 'for the first time in a long time'. Used when something hasn't happened for a while.
I watched a movie for the first time in a while.
Emphasizes that this specific instance is the first time. これが highlights the current occasion.
This is the first time I'm meeting him.
Referring to the initial occurrence in a series.
初めて (hajimete) means 'for the first time' in the sense of a new experience. 最初に (saisho ni) means 'first' in a sequence of actions. Use 初めて when you are doing something you've never done before, and 最初に when you are doing the first step of several.
I climbed Mt. Fuji for the first time.
First I stretch, then I run.
一番 means 'number one' or 'most', not 'first time'. Saying 一番寿司を食べた would mean 'I ate sushi number one' or 'I ate the best sushi', not 'I ate sushi for the first time'.
I went to Kyoto for the first time last year.
This is my first time trying natto.