先
HSK 1freq #306
Meanings
CC-CEDICT
- 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)
CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA
Wiktionary
- 1.first; ahead of time; before; beforehand
- 2.first; preceding; prior
- 3.for the time being; for the moment
- 4.earlier on; before; at first
- 5.ancient
- 6.deceased; late
- 7.ancestor; forefather
- 8.thing of utmost importance
- 9.only then
- 10.first off
- 11.Used to emphasize that something is/is not.
- 12.a surname
- 13.to guide; to initiate
- 14.to be earlier
- 15.to surpass
- 16.originally
- 17.to introduce
- 18.term of address for one's elder brother's wife
- 19.only used in 先馬／先马
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Etymology
Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 止 (“foot”) + 儿 (“person”) – to go forward. Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Tibetan བསེལ (bsel, “to protect (on a dangerous path); to escort”), Chepang स्यालःसा (syalʔ‑, “to lead; to go or do first; to open way”) (Schuessler, 2007).
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Stroke order
Components
Components from cjk-decomp · MIT
Example sentences
請先等他。
Please wait on him first.
你想先去哪裡?
Where would you like to go first?
汤姆先打了我。
Tom hit me first.
進食前先洗手。
Wash your hands before eating.
請先為他上菜。
Please serve him his meal first.
先格擋，再反擊。
Parry, then strike.
Sentences from Tatoeba · CC-BY 2.0 FR
More examples & usage (AI)
Synonyms
Antonyms
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Derived terms
一路領先一路领先一鞭先著一馬當先一马当先七代先靈七代先灵上先下江先生不語先生不语先生世先生並驅爭先并驱争先也克先拜巴扎事先五峰先生五斗先生五月先兒五月先儿五柳先生享先亭林先生以先以快先睹伊川先生佔先占先依先修先
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Related words
先生 teacher首先 first of all; in the first place领先 to lead先进 sophisticated; advanced (technology etc)优先 to have priority; to take precedence事先 in advance原先 originally先前 before; previously先后 early or late; first and last; priority预先 beforehand; in advance祖先 ancestors; forebears先锋 vanguard; pioneer; avant-garde