Hey guys, in games there is sometimes 始めから and sometimes 最初から on the main screen, I know it is translated into as "new game". I know that they literely mean "from the beginning" but are there any small nuances between those two ?

This might be a question for the natives... as far as I can tell, there isn't a difference between them, but this is only because I'm a non-native. The two words are so similar, that it's difficult to "feel" a difference based on what I've heard. However, by looking at which kanji are used, you may be able to guess what slight differences there may be. For example, 初めから includes the rtk keyword "commence" and 最初から uses "utmost" and "first time." From this, you might say 初めから equals "from the start" and 最初から equals "from the very start." RTK keywords may be seen as arbitrary when questioning the different nuances, but the very fact that 最　is used in 最初 shows that some sort of emphasis might be there. I'm not sure if this extra ”emphasis” provided by ”最” would be significant to Japanese natives, however...

thank you

One is 大和言葉 (native Japanese) and the other is 漢語 (from China).

Sometimes Japanese writers purposely use more 大和言葉 in writing that is considered to be emotional and 漢語 is used more often in more intellectually heavy writing.

On a similar topic, any difference between 暖か & 温か?

Daichi Wrote:On a similar topic, any difference between 暖か & 温か?

Yep.

Use 暖 to describe the weather or temperture of a room.

Use 温 for things you can physically touch. Like water.

kitakitsune Wrote:

Daichi Wrote:On a similar topic, any difference between 暖か & 温か?

Yep.

Use 暖 to describe the weather or temperture of a room.

Use 温 for things you can physically touch. Like water.

Oh right... Memory lapse... But I guess part of learning a language is remembering what you forget. XD

I asked a native speaker about 最初から and 始めから and she said they're identical. Absolutely no difference in her mind.