初々しい

• 読み: ういういしい
• ローマ字: uiuishii
• 漢字の分解: 初 (sho/ui) — first, beginning, inaugural
• 発音: /ɯ.i.ɯ.i.ɕiː/

意味

Fresh; innocent; youthful; naive. Describes someone or something radiating the charm of first experience and unspoiled newness.

A warm, affectionate i-adjective describing the appeal of freshness and inexperience — a debut performance, a new employee's first day, a young person encountering something for the very first time. Unlike あどけない (childlike innocence), 初々しい emphasises the quality of newness in first encounters, and applies naturally to young adults as well as children.

例文

1. 初々しい新入社員の挨拶に、ベテラン社員たちも思わず笑顔になった。
2. 舞台で初めて演じた彼女の初々しい演技が、観客の心をつかんだ。
3. 初々しいカップルが手をつないで公園を歩いていた。

使い方ガイド

場面: youth, relationships, workplace, performing arts

トーン: affectionate

起源と歴史

From 初 (ui — first time, inaugural, first experience) doubled with 々 + しい (adjective suffix). The repetition emphasises the completeness of the debut quality. 初 also appears in 初恋 (first love) and 初舞台 (stage debut).

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adult

社会的背景: General