Which kanji for はじめます? There seem to be two

Question

I thought the kanji for はじめます was:

始めます

However, one of my friends tweeted using 初:

トマト鍋初めて食べたけどおいしかった

Which is correct? Is there a difference in nuance between the two? jisho.org brings up both.

Answer 1

You are confusing the two examples. Both of your examples are correct. Why do you assume as if one in not? Only the first one is read as "はじめます".

You never use 初 to write "はじめます". A close usage I can think of is 初めまして, which is a fixed expression and is not constructive. For writing はじめます, you always write 始めます.

• 始める verb 'start'
• 初めて adverb/noun 'for the first time'

Answer 2

始:begining of something

初:first time thing