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Words Kanji Guides About

初しょ日にち

also: しょじつ

しょ

に

ち

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun, adverb

first day; opening day

Refers to the first day of an event, performance, exhibition, or similar occasion. Often used for sumo tournaments, theater runs, and movie releases.

大おお相撲ずもう初しょ日にちは満まん員いん御おん礼れいだった。
The first day of the grand sumo tournament was a full house.
映えい画がの初しょ日にち舞ぶ台たい挨あい拶さつに行いった。
I went to the opening-day stage greeting for the movie.

Written forms

初日Usage100%
- しょにち
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading しょにち is the most common.
- しょじつ
  Rare reading; mostly found in older or formal contexts.
しょじつ

Kanji

初first time, beginning
日day, sun, Japan

Similar words

初しょ回かい
初回 means 'first time' or 'first episode' and is more general, while 初日 specifically means the first day of a multi-day event.
初しょ日にちを出だす
A sumo idiom meaning 'to win on the first day of a tournament'; 初日 alone does not carry this meaning.

Etymology

Compound of 初 (first) and 日 (day). The reading しょにち is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; しょじつ is an alternative, less common reading.