Dictionary › 先

先

xiān

Old HSK 3 HSK 3.0 character level 1 Character

先 (xiān) means "first; beforehand". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 3 in the old six-level list.

What 先 means

1. beforehand; first; earlier
2. at first; originally
3. for the time being; for now
4. (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

Example sentences

• 你领先。
  You're in the lead.
• 你先请！
  After you!
• 谁先来？
  Whose go is it first?
• 女士优先。
  Nǚshìyōuxiān.
  Ladies first.
• 女士优先!
  Nǚshì yōuxiān!
  Ladies first!
• 先到先得。
  First come, first serve.

Words starting with 先

• 先生xiān shengteacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.); husband
• 先进xiān jìnsophisticated; advanced (technology etc); meritorious; exemplary (deeds etc)
• 先前xiān qiánbefore; previously
• 先后xiān hòuearly or late; first and last; priority; in succession; one after another
• 先锋xiān fēngvanguard; pioneer; avant-garde
• 先行xiān xíngto start off before the others; to precede; to proceed in advance
• 先知xiān zhīa person of foresight; (religion) a prophet
• 先天xiān tiānembryonic period (contrasted with 后天; inborn; innate; natural
• 先驱xiān qūto pioneer; pioneer; trailblazer
• 先例xiān lìprecedent
• 先人xiān rénancestor; forefather; sb's late father
• 先令xiān lìng(loanword) shilling
• 先秦xiān Qínpre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC
• 先河xiān hésource; precursor; forerunner
• 先天性xiān tiān xìngcongenital; intrinsic; innate
• 先辈xiān bèian older generation; ancestors; forefathers
• 先期xiān qīthe time before a certain date; in advance; beforehand; premature; initial period
• 先祖xiān zǔ(literary) my deceased grandfather; (literary) ancestors
• 先民xiān mínforebears
• 先机xiān jīcritical opportunity
• 先决条件xiān jué tiáo jiànprecondition; prerequisite
• 先贤xiān xián(literary) ancient sage
• 先行者xiān xíng zhěforerunner
• 先发制人xiān fā zhì rén(idiom) to gain the initiative by striking first; to preempt

Words containing 先

• 首先shǒu xiānfirst of all; in the first place
• 事先shì xiānin advance; before the event; beforehand
• 祖先zǔ xiānancestors; forebears; (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day…
• 原先yuán xiānoriginally; original; former
• 优先yōu xiānto have priority; to take precedence
• 领先lǐng xiānto lead; to be in front
• 预先yù xiānbeforehand; in advance
• 争先恐后zhēng xiān kǒng hòu(idiom) to compete to be first; to scramble to get ahead…
• 率先shuài xiānto take the lead; to show initiative
• 最先zuì xiān(the) very first
• 抢先qiǎng xiānto rush (to do sth urgent); to try to be the first; to forestall
• 起先qǐ xiānat first; in the beginning
• 早先zǎo xiānpreviously; before
• 在先zài xiānto come first; previous; prior
• 少先队Shào Xiān duìYoung Pioneers of China, abbr. for 少年先锋队
• 算命先生suàn mìng xiān shengfortune-teller
• 争先zhēng xiānto compete to be first; to contest first place
• 捷足先登jié zú xiān dēngthe quick-footed climb up first (idiom); the early bird catches the worm…
• 李先念Lǐ Xiān niànLi Xiannian (1909-1992), PRC general and politician
• 遥遥领先yáo yáo lǐng xiān(idiom) a long way in front; to lead by a wide margin
• 一马当先yī mǎ dāng xiān(idiom) to take the lead
• 风水先生fēng shuǐ xiān shengfeng shui master; geomancer; stock figure in folk tales, as a wise adviser or a charlatan
• 其先qí xiānpreviously; before that; up to then
• 从先cóng xiān(dialect) before; in the past; previously

Characters that look like 先

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 克kèto be able to; to subdue; to restrain
• 免miǎnto excuse sb; to exempt; to remove or dismiss from office
• 失shīto lose; to miss; to fail
• 充chōngsufficient; full; to fill; to serve as; to act as
• 壳ké(colloquial) shell (of an egg, nut, crab etc); case; casing…
• 秃tūbald (lacking hair or feathers); barren; bare; denuded; blunt (lacking a point)

Sounds the same

Read xiān, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 鲜fresh; bright (in color); delicious
• 纤fine; delicate; minute
• 仙immortal
• 掀to lift (a lid); to rock; to convulse
• 暹sunrise
• 酰acid radical; -acyl (chemistry)
• 秈common rice
• 氙xenon (chemistry)
• 锨shovel
• 跹to manner of dancing; to walk around
• 祆Ahura Mazda, the creator deity in Zoroastrianism
• 籼long-grained rice; same as 秈

Where 先 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Directions & Location (HSK 3), HSK 1 Characters · Set 9 (HSK 1), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 3 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read xiān correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.