also: はじ · はな
道の端を歩いてください。
Please walk along the edge of the road.
ノートの端に小さくメモを書いた。
I wrote a small note in the margin of the notebook.
beginning; start; from the first
Only with reading はな
Mostly used in the adverbial expression 端から, read はなから, meaning 'from the outset' or 'right from the start.' It often implies that someone had already decided or assumed something.
彼は端からこちらの説明を聞く気がなかった。
He had no intention of listening to our explanation from the start.
scrap; odd bit; fragment; least bit
Only with reading はし
Refers to a small leftover piece or fragment, often in compounds such as 切れ端. The 'least bit' nuance is an extension of this idea of a tiny part rather than a general word for 'minimum.'
紙の切れ端に電話番号を書いた。
I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.
会話の端を耳にしただけで、詳しくは知らない。
I only caught a fragment of the conversation, so I do not know the details.
She stood at the edge of the pool, watching.
I gripped the end of the rope firmly with both hands.
The story quickly became the talk of the town.
I trimmed off the scrap ends of the fabric to make the lengths even.
端 is the neutral, standard word for an end or edge, while 端っこ is a colloquial, slightly childish variant emphasizing a small leftover bit.
端 is the ordinary word for the physical end or tip of something, while 際 more often refers to the immediate edge or brink, especially in older or literary usage.
端 refers concretely to the physical edge or tip of something, whereas 一端 can also extend metaphorically to an aspect of an abstract matter.
端 is a plain native word for the end or tip of something, whereas エッジ carries a more modern, design- or tech-oriented connotation.
端 means the edge or end of something, the opposite of 真ん中, which is the middle.
端 means just one end or edge, whereas 両端 always refers to both of the two ends together.
端 refers to a physical edge or tip in a plain, concrete sense, while 果て suggests a far-off, often figurative or dramatic extremity.
left end; left edge
odds and ends; every little thing; here and there
fragment; scrap; cut-off piece
improper; shameful; vulgar
scrap; small piece; fragment · unimportant member; mere ...; humble ...
tuck up (a kimono skirt); tuck in · cut short; abridge; skip over; omit
one edge; one end; one side
fully fledged; competent; proper
quick-wittedness; tact; sensibility
cross-piece joining boards (carpentry)
female servant; maidservant
sitting on a veranda
corner of a house; interior corner
very end; extremity; edge
remains; fragment; leftover piece
scraps; cut end; cut-off piece
remains after cutting; cut-off piece; scrap
fragment of wood; wood chip; piece of wood
Used especially in expressions such as 端から meaning 'from the start'; the kana spelling はなから is also common in practice, but no kana written form is specified.