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Word 1809 of 2252

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先ず

まず

first (of all), to start with; (with a negative) hardly, almost certainly not

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 先ず手を洗ってください。

    まずてをあらってください。

    First of all, please wash your hands.

  2. 先ず宿題をしてから遊びなさい。

    まずしゅくだいをしてからあそびなさい。

    Do your homework first, then go and play.

  3. あの人が来ることは先ずないでしょう。

    あのひとがくることはまずないでしょう。

    There's almost no chance he'll come.

Common patterns

先ず第一に
first and foremost
先ず初めに
to begin with
先ず〜ない
hardly ever, almost certainly not

Memory tip

Two quite different senses: "first" in a sequence, and, paired with a negative, "hardly / almost certainly not" (まずない). It is normally written in kana.

Kanji in this word

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What does 先ず mean?