(xiān) - first, in advance, earlier in Mandarin
xiānTraditional: 先
Translation
first, in advance, earlier
Word origin
The character 先 (xiān) 'first, earlier' shows a foot advancing above a person 儿, depicting someone going ahead, hence 'first' or 'in advance'.
- Origin
- ideograph
- Root
- a foot/step above a person 儿, depicting going ahead
Stroke order
先
Examples
。
You go first.
，。
Eat first, then talk.
。
I'll head back first.
，。
You go first, I'll be right there.
。
Wash your hands before eating.
先 (xiān) means first, in advance, earlier. It is used as a adverb in everyday Mandarin speech.
Appears in 2 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 先.
Used in
Stories
(4)Grammar articles
(4)The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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