序盤|じょばんjoban[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounopening (in a game of go, chess, etc.)
2. nounearly stages; initial phase; outset

• Synonym当初とうしょWrittenWritten style for 'at first', as in 「当初の予定」; it looks back at the start in contrast with how things are now.
• Related最初さいしょNeutralThe very first, as in 「最初の日」「最初は苦戦した」; it can mark a single first moment or a stretch, while 「序盤」 centers on the early stage of a process.
• Related初期しょきNeutralEarly days or stages of something, as in 「初期症状」; it frames a time period, while 「序盤」 tracks progress in a game or event.
• Related始まりはじまりNeutralThe origin or onset of something, as in 「物語の始まり」; it stresses where things begin rather than an ongoing early phase.
• Related初頭しょとうWrittenWritten style for the start of an era or period, as in 「20世紀初頭」; 「序盤」 instead tracks a game or event in progress.
• Related幕開けまくあけNeutralThe raising of the curtain, as in 「新時代の幕開け」; it marks the launch of an era or event, while 「序盤」 is the early part of a process.
• Related序章じょしょうWrittenWritten word for a preface or introductory chapter, also used figuratively for the start of events; 「序盤」 is the early stage while things are under way.
• Related序の口じょのくちCasualColloquial, as in 「これはまだ序の口」; it says something is only just beginning, with the nuance that far more lies ahead.
• RelatedスタートNeutralLoanword for a start or takeoff, as in 「スタートを切る」.
• RelatedはじめNeutralWritten 「初め」, the earliest period, as in 「月の初め」; it leans toward position in time.
• Related冒頭ぼうとうWrittenWritten word for the opening of a text or meeting, as in 「冒頭で述べた」; 「序盤」 covers the early part of a process.
• Related滑り出しすべりだしNeutralHow something gets off the ground, as in 「好調な滑り出し」; it judges whether the start went well, while 「序盤」 covers the early stage as a whole. Common in speech.
• Related出だしでだしCasualColloquial word for the very beginning, as in 「歌の出だし」; it points to the opening moments, while 「序盤」 covers a whole early phase.
• Relatedとば口とばくちCasualColloquial for an entrance or the very first step; 「序盤」 refers to an early stretch of the whole.
• RelatedビギニングNeutralLoanword meaning 'beginning'; rare in everyday use.
• Antonym終盤しゅうばんNeutralThe final stage of a game or event, as in 「試合の終盤」; the direct opposite of 「序盤」.

Use 「序盤」 for the early stage of a game, match, or event, as in 「序盤戦」「試合の序盤」. For how something gets off the ground say 「滑り出し」, and for the very opening 「出だし」; 「終盤」 is its opposite for the final stage. Other words here mark a first moment (「最初」「始まり」), a time period (「初期」「初頭」「当初」), a launch (「幕開け」「スタート」), or the opening of a text or speech (「冒頭」「序章」).

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 囲碁いご、将棋しょうぎなどで勝負しょうぶの初期しょきの段階だんかい。また、その局面きょくめん。
2. ある程度ていどの期間きかんの事柄ことがらで初期しょきの段階だんかい。