(しょねん)

しょねん
noun
first year; inaugural year
1. first year; inaugural year
the first year of something such as an era, a policy, a system, or a person's time in a position
初年(しょねん)売上(うりあげ)好調(こうちょう)だった。
Sales in the first year were strong.
制度(せいど)導入(どうにゅう)初年(しょねん)混乱(こんらん)(おお)かった。
There was a lot of confusion in the first year of the system's introduction.
この大学(だいがく)では初年(しょねん)基礎科目(きそかもく)中心(ちゅうしん)(まな)び、二年目(にねんめ)から専門(せんもん)(はい)る。
At this university, students focus on foundational subjects in the first year and enter their specialty from the second year.

A formal term for the first year of a period, often used in business, academic, and governmental contexts. Frequently appears in compound forms and is common in news and official reports.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 初年度(しょねんど): first fiscal year (the most common compound form)
  • 初年(しょねん)効果(こうか): first-year effect
  • 導入(どうにゅう)初年(しょねん): first year of introduction
  • 開業(かいぎょう)初年(しょねん): first year of business

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 一年目(いちねんめ): first year — the general, everyday way to say "first year"
  • 元年(がんねん): first year of an era — specifically the first year of a Japanese imperial era or a symbolic new beginning
  • 初年度(しょねんど): first fiscal year — the compound form, most commonly used in business and government