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しょっぱな Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
very beginning ; start ; outset
usually written using kana alone colloquial
Colloquial noun emphasizing the very first moment or earliest stage of something. Often used in phrases like しょっぱなから (from the very start) or しょっぱなに (at the very beginning).
Written forms しょっぱな Usage 46%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 初っ端 is also used but less common.
初しょ っ 端ぱな Usage 33%
Kanji spelling; the reading しょっぱな is a colloquial contraction of しょはな (初端).
初しょ っぱな Usage 20%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not a standard spelling.
が
あっ
た
。
There was an important announcement at the very start of the meeting.
Kanji Similar words 最さい 初しょ 最初 is the standard, neutral word for 'beginning' or 'first'. しょっぱな is more colloquial and emphatic, stressing the very outset.
初はじ め 初め is a general term for 'beginning'. しょっぱな is more informal and often implies an immediate, sometimes unexpected, early moment.
Etymology Colloquial contraction of 初端 (しょはな), literally 'first edge/start'. The geminated っぱな adds emphasis and a casual tone.