am Anfang
Translation
in the beginning, at the start
Examples
Am Anfang war alles schwierig.
In the beginning, everything was difficult.
Die Geschichte steht am Anfang des Buches.
The story is at the beginning of the book.
Grammar Patterns
am Anfang + [verb]... (at sentence start) In the beginning... Am Anfang war alles schwer.
...[verb] am Anfang... (in mid-sentence) ...was difficult in the beginning. Es war am Anfang schwer.
Similar Words
zu Beginn, anfangs; Antonym: am Ende
Etymology
From 'am' (at the) + 'Anfang' (beginning). Literally 'at the beginning'.
Memory Tips
Learn it as a pair with its opposite, 'am Ende' (at the end). It refers to the start of a story or process.