King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “initial”

Romaji: shokai
first time; first innings; initial attempt

In Japanese, initial is , read (shokai).

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

  1. n first time; first innings; initial attempt
  2. adj-no first; initial

Kanji and stroke order

first time, beginning
on: ショ
kun: はじ.め、はじ.めて、はつ、はつ-
7 strokes · JLPT 2
-times, round, game
on: カイ、エ
kun: まわ.る、-まわ.る、-まわ.り、まわ.す
6 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “initial”

WordReadingMeaning
しょねんど shonendofirst year; initial (year)
かしらじ kashirajifirst letter; first letters; initial
しょど shodofirst-time; initial
イニシャル inisharuinitial; first
せいぼ seiboinitial (part of Chinese syllable)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さいしょ saishobeginning; outset; first
しょき shokiearly days; early years; early stages
とうしょ toushobeginning; start; outset
しょにち shonichifirst day; opening day
はじめて hajimetefor the first time
しょしんしゃ shoshinshabeginner
こんかい konkaithis time; now
かいふく kaifukurestoration; recovery; rehabilitation

See also: Chinese symbol for “initial”.

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.

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