〜をはじめ — JLPT N2 Grammar

Pattern

Noun A + をはじめ、Noun B も / や / など + [verb/predicate] Noun A + をはじめとして + [broader group description] Noun A + をはじめとする + Noun (attributive: modifies the following noun) Noun A + をはじめとした + Noun (attributive, past-tense form)

Noun A is the most representative or prominent example of a larger group. What follows (Noun B, or the broader description) expands on this group.

Formality

Standard to Formal. をはじめ and をはじめとして are used in formal writing, news articles, official documents, and formal speeches. They can also appear in conversational contexts but sound slightly elevated.

Meaning

Starting with ~; beginning with ~; ~ and other (members of the same group); including ~

〜をはじめ introduces a noun that is the most representative or prominent member of a broader group, implying that the statement applies to the entire group, with this noun cited as the leading example.

Explanation

をはじめ comes from を + 始め (はじめ, "beginning; start"). The pattern literally means "starting with X (as the first/representative example)." The noun before をはじめ is always the most prominent, well-known, or representative member of a category — it leads the way for the group.

The critical usage rule is that をはじめ signals a representative example, not an exhaustive list. It implies "including X, and also the rest of this category." Compare: 東京をはじめ、多くの都市でイベントが開催された (events were held in many cities, starting with Tokyo — Tokyo is cited as the representative city, others are implied).

Three main forms and their uses:

• をはじめ: standalone, followed by other examples or a broader description. 日本をはじめ、多くの国が参加した.
• をはじめとして: more emphatic version of をはじめ, often followed by a clause. 環境問題をはじめとして、様々な課題がある.
• をはじめとする/をはじめとした: attributive form that modifies the following noun. 日本をはじめとするアジア諸国 (Asian countries including Japan).

Example Sentences

1. 東京をはじめ、全国各地でイベントが開催された。 Toukyou wo hajime, zenkoku kakuchi de ibento ga kaisai sareta. Events were held throughout the country, starting with Tokyo.

2. 日本をはじめとするアジア諸国が、この問題に取り組んでいる。 Nihon wo hajime to suru Ajia shokoku ga, kono mondai ni torikunde iru. Asian countries including Japan are working on this issue.

3. 社長をはじめ、全社員がプロジェクトに参加した。 Shachou wo hajime, zen-shain ga purojekuto ni sanka shita. All employees, starting with the president, participated in the project.

4. 環境問題をはじめとして、現代社会にはさまざまな課題がある。 Kankyou-mondai wo hajime to shite, gendai-shakai ni wa samazama na kadai ga aru. Modern society faces various challenges, starting with environmental issues.

5. 富士山をはじめとした日本の名所が、外国人旅行者に人気だ。 Fujisan wo hajime to shita Nihon no meisho ga, gaikokujin ryokousha ni ninki da. Japan's famous sights, including Mt. Fuji, are popular with foreign tourists.

6. 田中先生をはじめ、多くの先生方にお世話になりました。 Tanaka-sensei wo hajime, ooku no sensei-gata ni osewa ni narimashita. I have been in the care of many teachers, starting with Professor Tanaka.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using をはじめ when you want to list all examples (exhaustive list). をはじめ implies "representative example plus others in the same category" — it is not used for exhaustive enumeration. If you want to list everything, use や...など (and others) or を含めて (including).

Mistake 2: Placing an unimportant or non-representative item before をはじめ. The noun before をはじめ should be the most prominent, famous, or representative member of the group. Placing a lesser-known item first violates the pattern's logic and sounds unnatural.

• Unnatural: 福井市をはじめ、東京でもイベントが開催された。(Fukui is not the representative leading city.)
• Natural: 東京をはじめ、福井でもイベントが開催された。(Tokyo leads; Fukui is an extension.)

Compare With

Practical note: をはじめ is commonly seen in news headlines and formal announcements where a prominent example is cited first to contextualize the broader trend. It is one of the patterns most worth learning for reading comprehension of Japanese news media.