まずはまず
- Thread starter cloa513
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #4
- 12 Oct 2013
- 4,071
- 5,023
- Thread starter
- #6
Why is hajime before mazu?
- 12 Oct 2013
- 4,071
- 5,023
OK, I think I get it.
In the second part, the teacher is basically saying, "today we are going to start off by doing A, then B, then C, but before any of that I want you to do X".
The teacher's warning about hurting yourself if you don't warm up properly is the clue to why the warm-up is done first. It doesn't really negate the "mazu" of the temporal order of the days activities, but I can see why its confusing.
In the second part, the teacher is basically saying, "today we are going to start off by doing A, then B, then C, but before any of that I want you to do X".
The teacher's warning about hurting yourself if you don't warm up properly is the clue to why the warm-up is done first. It doesn't really negate the "mazu" of the temporal order of the days activities, but I can see why its confusing.
- Thread starter
- #8
Is the passage expressing natural Japanese as much as exam ever does- for example should the mazu and hajime ni really be swapped?
- 12 Oct 2013
- 4,071
- 5,023
It sounds totally natural to me, but note that I am not a native speaker.
Alternatively, you could swap the まず and the はじめに and it would still be fine. But I wouldn't say they should be swapped.
Also, context is king in any Japanese sentence, so if you are focusing on the words まず and はじめ and understanding them both to mean "first" or "firstly" or "first off" and not considering the context in which they appear, you are sabotaging your efforts to learn Japanese. It is clear from the context of the sentence that the teacher wishes the students to do warming-up exercises before anything else (otherwise they might injure themselves).
Alternatively, you could swap the まず and the はじめに and it would still be fine. But I wouldn't say they should be swapped.
Also, context is king in any Japanese sentence, so if you are focusing on the words まず and はじめ and understanding them both to mean "first" or "firstly" or "first off" and not considering the context in which they appear, you are sabotaging your efforts to learn Japanese. It is clear from the context of the sentence that the teacher wishes the students to do warming-up exercises before anything else (otherwise they might injure themselves).
