How to Say It's My First Time in Japanese: Hajimete Desu and More

Hajimete desu: the core phrase

Hajimete means for the first time, and adding desu makes a complete, polite sentence. In context it is all you need. When a staff member notices you studying the menu, or a coworker asks if you have used the office printer before, hajimete desu tells them everything.

With friends, drop desu and say hajimete, often with a sentence-ending particle such as nan da or da yo. When the topic is not obvious, put it in front with wa: Nihon wa hajimete desu, as for Japan, it's my first time.

Hajimete kimashita and other verb patterns

Because hajimete is an adverb, it can sit directly in front of a verb. Hajimete kimashita means I came for the first time, and hajimete tabemashita means I ate it for the first time. This is a natural way to share an experience you are having or have just had.

It also works well for reactions. When you taste something new and love it, hajimete tabeta kedo, oishii! sounds spontaneous and friendly. Past tense is common here because you are reporting what just happened.

Hajimete kikimashita is worth remembering on its own. It is a polite way to show that information is new to you, and it often invites the other person to explain more.

~no wa hajimete desu: saying what is new

To say that doing a particular action is your first time, turn the verb into a noun with no and make it the topic with wa: dictionary form + no wa hajimete desu. Nihon de unten suru no wa hajimete desu means it's my first time driving in Japan.

This pattern is a little more careful and explanatory than hajimete + verb. It often prepares the listener for a request or an excuse, which is why it so often ends with nanode, so, or n desu ga, but. You are telling them the context before you ask for help.

A related pattern is ~ta koto ga arimasen, I have never done. Tabeta koto ga arimasen, I have never eaten it, describes your past experience, while taberu no wa hajimete desu describes this moment as the first. Both are correct; the first often comes before trying, the second while doing it.

First-time customer questions: hajimete no kata

Many businesses in Japan treat first-time customers differently. A salon may need you to fill in a form, a gym may give you a tour, a clinic will usually ask for your insurance card and a questionnaire, and a shop may offer to make a point card. That is why staff so often ask whether it is your first time.

The polite phrase they use is hajimete no kata, literally the person who is here for the first time. You may also hear go-riyō wa hajimete desu ka, is this your first time using our service, or the respectful hajimete de irasshaimasu ka. All of them take the same simple answer.

Using your first time to ask for help

Saying it is your first time is a polite signal that you might need guidance, and people usually respond by explaining things more slowly and clearly. Pairing hajimete with nanode, so, or n desu kedo, but, turns it into a soft request without you having to ask directly.

This works at ramen ticket machines, in izakaya with confusing menus and at your first day at work. It is honest, it sets expectations and it tends to make staff and colleagues more patient.

O-teyawaraka ni onegaishimasu is a light, slightly humorous line for games, sports, karaoke or a first training session. It is not something to say in a job interview.

Hajimemashite is not it's my first time

Hajimemashite comes from the same root, but it is a fixed greeting that means roughly how do you do or nice to meet you. You say it once, at the very start, when you meet a person for the first time, and it is usually followed by your name and yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

A common learner mistake is to say hajimemashite to a shop assistant or to announce hajimemashite when entering a restaurant for the first time. Those situations need hajimete desu, and only if someone asks. Another is to say hajimemashite to someone you have already met; for a second meeting, a normal greeting such as konnichiwa is enough.

Talking about firsts in conversation

Firsts are an easy and friendly conversation topic. You can ask someone whether it is their first time, share your own first experience of something Japanese, or react when you learn a newcomer has just arrived.

Words with the prefix hatsu or sho are common for firsts: hatsu-dēto, a first date, shonichi, the first day of something like a job or an event, and hatsu-rainichi, a celebrity's first visit to Japan, a phrase you will mostly see in news headlines. Be careful with hatsu-taiken, first experience: it is fine in many contexts, but it can also carry a sexual meaning, so hajimete no keiken is the safer choice.