Japanese symbol for “firstly”
先ず
まず
Romaji: mazu
first (of all); firstly; to begin with; before anything else
In Japanese, firstly is 先ず, read まず (mazu).
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
- adv first (of all); firstly; to begin with; before anything else
- adv probably; most likely; almost certainly; virtually
- adv more or less (satisfactory); on the whole; reasonably
- adv anyway; at any rate; for now (at least); for the time being
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “firstly”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 初めに | はじめに hajimeni | first; firstly; first of all |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority; precedence |
| 先輩 | せんぱい senpai | senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder |
| 先日 | せんじつ senjitsu | the other day; a few days ago |
| 先週 | せんしゅう senshuu | last week; the week before |
| 先月 | せんげつ sengetsu | last month |
See also: Chinese symbol for “firstly”.
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.