Japanese symbol for “firstborn”

初生

しょせい

Romaji: shosei

firstborn; first-produced; newborn

In Japanese, firstborn is 初生, read しょせい (shosei).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

adj-no, n firstborn; first-produced; newborn

Kanji and stroke order

初

first time, beginning

on: ショ
kun: はじ.め、はじ.めて、はつ、はつ-

7 strokes · JLPT 2

生

life, genuine, birth

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける、う.まれる

5 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “firstborn”

Word	Reading	Meaning
第１子	だいいっし daiisshi	firstborn; first child; eldest child

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
最初	さいしょ saisho	beginning; outset; first
初期	しょき shoki	early days; early years; early stages
当初	とうしょ tousho	beginning; start; outset
初日	しょにち shonichi	first day; opening day
初めて	はじめて hajimete	for the first time
初心者	しょしんしゃ shoshinsha	beginner
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
先生	せんせい sensei	teacher; instructor; master

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.