beginner

English

Etymology

From Middle English begynner, equivalent to begin +‎ -er. Cognate with West Frisian begjinner (“beginner”), Dutch beginner (“beginner”), Danish nybegynder (“beginner, novice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪˈɡɪnə/

• Audio (RP):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /bəˈɡɪnɚ/

Noun

beginner (plural beginners)

1. Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started.

   I'm new to learning Japanese: I'm just a beginner.

2. Someone who sets something in motion.

   The beginner of the games lit the ceremonial torch.

3. (theater) An actor who is present on stage in the first moments of a play.
   • 1949, Walter Macqueen-Pope, ‎Gaiety: Theatre of Enchantment (page 60)

     On the stage, the beginners for the first piece had taken their places — the chorus were there, scared but determined, and in the wings waited Harlequin, in the person of Charles Lyall […]

Synonyms

• (recent starter): amateur, newbie
• See also Thesaurus:beginner

Derived terms

• beginnerish
• beginner's trap

Translations

someone who just recently started

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: مُبْتَدِئ m (mubtadiʔ)
• Armenian: սկսնակ (hy) (sksnak)
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: пачатко́вец m (pačatkóvjec), нава́к m (navák), нава́чка f (naváčka), навачо́к m (navačók), навічо́к m (navičók)
• Bulgarian: начина́ещ (bg) m (načináešt), нова́к (bg) m (novák)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: principiant (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 初學者／初学者 (zh) (chūxuézhě), 初学者 (zh) (chūxuézhě)

• Czech: začátečník (cs) m, začátečnice f
• Danish: begynder (da) c
• Dutch: beginner (nl) m
• Esperanto: komencanto (eo)
• Estonian: algaja
• Finnish: aloittelija (fi), vasta-alkaja (fi)
• French: débutant (fr) m, débutante (fr) f
• Galician: principiante (gl) m or f, novato m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Anfänger (de) m, Anfängerin (de) f
• Greek: πρωτάρης (el) m (protáris)
• Hebrew: מתחיל (he) m (matkhíl)
• Hindi: नया (hi) (nayā)
• Hungarian: kezdő (hu)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} byrjandi m
• Indonesian: pemula (id), pemula (id)
• Italian: principiante (it) m or f, novellino (it) m, neofita (it) m or f
• Japanese: 初心者 (ja) (しょしんしゃ, shoshinsha), 初学者 (しょがくしゃ, shogakusha), ビギナー (biginā), 新参 (しんざん, shinzan)
• Kalmyk: эклгч (eklgç)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 초심자(初心者) (ko) (chosimja), 초보자 (ko) (choboja)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: tīrō (la) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: naujokas m
• Macedonian: почетник m (početnik)
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Nepali: नयाँ (ne) (nayā̃)
• Norman: c'menchant m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nybegynner (no) m

  Nynorsk: nybyrjar m, nybegynnar m

• Persian: مبتدی (fa) (mobtadi), تازه‌کار (fa) (tâze-kâr)
• Plautdietsch: Aunfenja m
• Polish: początkujący (pl) m or m pl, nowicjusz (pl) m, nowicjuszka (pl) f
• Portuguese: novato (pt) m, iniciante, principiante (pt)
• Romanian: începător (ro) m, începătoare (ro) f
• Russian: начина́ющий (ru) m (načinájuščij), новичо́к (ru) m (novičók)
• Scottish Gaelic: neach-tòiseachaidh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀четнӣк m

  Roman: pòčetnīk (sh) m

• Slovak: začiatočník (sk) m, začiatočníčka f
• Slovene: začetnik (sl) m, začetnica (sl) f
• Spanish: principiante (es) m or f, novato (es) m
• Swedish: nybörjare (sv) c
• Tagalog: singki
• Thai: มือใหม่ (th) (mʉʉ-mài)
• Tocharian B: ñwetstse
• Turkish: acemi (tr), çöne
• Ukrainian: початкі́вець m (počatkívecʹ), новачо́к (uk) m (novačók), нова́к (uk) m (novák), нова́чка (uk) f (nováčka)
• Urdu: شروعات (śuruāt)
• Vietnamese: người bắt đầu, người mới học
• Volapük: priman (vo) m or f, hipriman m, jipriman (vo) f
• Welsh: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: אָנפֿאַנגער (onfanger), אָנהייבער m (onheyber)

someone who sets something in motion

• Dutch: starter (nl)
• Estonian: alustaja
• Finnish: avaaja (fi), aloittaja (fi), alkuunpanija (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: inițiator (ro) m
• Spanish: iniciador (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} comenciator, ^{(please verify)} comenciante, ^{(please verify)} initiator, ^{(please verify)} initiante
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} inceptor, ^{(please verify)} initiator
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} beginan

Further reading

• “beginner”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “beginner”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• benigner, bergenin

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Dutch

Etymology

From beginnen +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈɣɪnər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧gin‧ner
• Rhymes: -ɪnər

Noun

beginner m (plural beginners, diminutive beginnertje n)

1. Someone who is just starting something, or has only recently started (similar to English)

   Hij kan goed schaken voor een beginner. ― He plays chess well for a beginner.

Derived terms

• beginnerscursus