Is it "初めてのカヌー” or is that saying something like "It was my first canoe"?
3 Answers
"初めてのカヌー体験です" is probably what I'd say to emphasize the experience of canoeing instead of the canoe itself. 経験 instead of 体験 would probably be alright as well.
To express doing something for the first time, use the following conjunction:
〜初めて + action verb
Thus, for your desired sentence, It was my first time canoeing.
would be expressed as
カヌーを初めてしました。
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2In this specific context, I feel like カヌーをするのは初めてでした may be more appropriate, but I am not a native speaker.– AngelosSep 25, 2018 at 8:38
You can say 初めてのカヌーです for “This is my first time canoeing,” as well as, more colloquially, カヌー、初めてです。
This is an addition to the other answer.
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Reading these sentences, I get the feeling that this is the first time seeing/owning a canoe (depends on context). By implication that means you haven't gone canoeing, but I'm not sure this has the right emphasis.– ajsmartSep 25, 2018 at 12:43