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一等最初 (いっとうさいしょ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

一いっ等とう最さい初しょ

Meanings

1

adverb

first off; first thing; first of all

Emphasizes doing something before anything else; similar to いの一番. Often used in casual speech or instructions.

See also: いの一番

一いっ等とう最さい初しょに宿しゅく題だいを終おわらせなさい。
Finish your homework first thing.
一いっ等とう最さい初しょ、彼かれはその話はなしを信しんじなかった。
At first, he didn't believe the story.

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
等etc., and so forth, class (first)
最utmost, most, extreme
初

first time, beginning

Similar words

いの一いち番ばん
いの一番 is a more idiomatic and emphatic expression meaning 'the very first thing', often used in set phrases like いの一番にやる. 一等最初 is slightly more literal and less idiomatic.
最さい初しょ
最初 simply means 'first' or 'beginning'. 一等最初 adds emphasis, meaning 'the very first' or 'before anything else'.

Etymology

Compound of 一等 (first class, number one) and 最初 (first, beginning). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely arose as an emphatic adverbial phrase.