Today’s #kanji is #初, which is a compound ideograph between 刀 and 衣（the left hand side 衤 is called ころもへん). 刀 is a sword and 衣 is a garment. The meaning of 初 derives from the fact that the first step of making a garment is to cut cloth (with a sword).
Meaning: first, beginning
Reading: ショ、はじ、はつ、うい、そ（ぞ）
初回（ショカイ）: [noun] the first time
初心（ショシン）: [noun] one’s original intention
当初（トウショ）: [noun] the beginning, the start, the first, initial
初（はじ）めて: [adv] for the first time
初（はつ）春（はる）: [noun] early spring, the New Year
cf. 初春（ショシュン）: [noun] early spring; the beginning of spring (but no meaning of “the New Year”)
初（はつ）孫（まご）: [noun] one’s first grandchild (can be pronounced as ういまご also)
初（うい）産（ザン）: [noun] one’s first childbirth (can be pronounced as はつザン also)
初（うい）陣（ジン）: [noun] one’s first campaign, a maiden battle, a baptism of fire
見（み）初（そ）める: [vt] (for a boy) to fall in love (with a girl) at first sight, to be captivated (by a girl) at first glance. Sometimes it’s written 見染める with the same reading.
書（か）き初（ぞ）め: [noun] the first calligraphy of the year, the New Year’s calligraphy exercise
- かたな
- ころもへん
初
切
