Refers to the first character or letter of a word, name, or phrase. Often used in contexts like acronyms, monograms, or indexing.
Take the first letters of the name to make initials.
In the index, entries are sorted by the first letter.
Standard kanji spelling for this term.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen in explanatory contexts.
From 頭 “first, head” and 字 “character, letter.” The reading じ is the regular Sino-Japanese reading of 字, not a product of sequential voicing.