How do I stop being afraid to ask questions at my first dev job?

You spend half the day holding in questions, afraid that asking will expose you as a mistake they made in hiring. But here is the truth every experienced engineer knows, they hired you as a beginner. They expect questions. The silence you think is protecting you is actually slowing you down and hiding the eager learner they wanted. Nobody on that team started knowing everything, and the good ones never stopped asking. A smart question is not a confession of weakness. It is how work gets done and how trust gets built. The engineer who asks looks far better in six months than the one who quietly stayed stuck. Start small. Try to find the answer yourself for a set amount of time, then ask, clearly and without apology. Most people are glad to help someone who is trying. You were not hired to already know. You were hired to learn, and asking is you doing the job right.