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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɪˈɡɪnə/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (US) 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 (mubtadiʾ)
• 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: novençà m, novici (ca) m, novell (ca) m, principiant (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 初學者 (zh), 初学者 (zh) (chūxuézhě), 新手 (zh) (xīnshǒu)

• Czech: nováček m, začátečník (cs) m, začátečnice f
• Danish: begynder (da) c
• Dutch: beginneling (nl) m, beginnelinge f, beginner (nl) m
• Esperanto: komencanto (eo)
• Estonian: algaja
• Finnish: aloittelija (fi), noviisi (fi), vasta-alkaja (fi)
• French: débutant (fr) m, débutante (fr) f
• Galician: principiante (gl) m or f, novato m
• Georgian: ახალბედა (axalbeda), დამწყები (damc̣q̇ebi)
• German: Anfänger (de) m, Anfängerin (de) f, Neuling (de) m
• Greek: αρχάριος (el) (archários), πρωτάρης (el) m (protáris)
• Hebrew: מתחיל‎ (he) m (matkhíl)
• Hindi: नया (hi) (nayā)
• Hungarian: kezdő (hu), újonc (hu)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} byrjandi m
• Indonesian: pemula (id), pemula (id)
• Italian: principiante (it) m or f, debuttante (it) m or f, novizio (it) m, esordiente (it), 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), 초심자 (ko) (chosimja), 초보자 (ko) (choboja)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: inceptor, tīrō (la) m

• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: naujokas m
• Macedonian: почетник m (početnik)
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: ihu hūpē, tauhou, ika tauhou
• 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), نوچه‎ (fa) (nowče), تازه‌کار‎ (fa) (tâze-kâr)
• Plautdietsch: Aunfenja m
• Polish: debiutant (pl), adept (pl) m, adeptka (pl) f,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, debutant (ro) m
• Russian: дебюта́нт (ru) m (debjutánt), дебюта́нтка (ru) f (debjutántka), 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: nováčik m, začetnik (sl) m, začetnica (sl) f
• Spanish: principiante (es) m or f, novato (es) m, novillo (es) m, bisoño (es) m, en ciernes
• Swedish: nybörjare (sv) c, novis (sv) c
• Tagalog: singki
• Thai: มือใหม่ (th) (mʉʉ-mài)
• Tocharian B: ñwetstse
• Turkish: acemi (tr), çöne, çaylak (tr), çömez (tr), toy (tr)
• 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), käynnistäjä (fi)

• Romanian: inițiator (ro) m
• Spanish: iniciador (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} comenciator, ^{(please verify)} comenciante, ^{(please verify)} initiator, ^{(please verify)} initiante

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} initiator
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} novise m or f
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} beginan

Further reading

• “beginner” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “beginner” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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