先
Spell out: + =
beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
6 strokes
Dict coverage rank #482 U+5148
How 先 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
Someone stepping 止 in front of another person 儿
How to remember it
before · Heisig RSH #256
牛 cow + human legs
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 先 as their sound component
These characters all use 先 (xiān) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先 sound component | xiān | first, former, previous |
| 洗 | xǐ | to bathe, to rinse, to wash |
| 选 | xuǎn | to select, to elect, to choose; election |
| 宪 | xiàn | constitution, statute, law |
| 酰 | xiān | acylate |
| 铣 | xiǎn | mill |
| 冼 | xiǎn | surname |
| 筅 | xiǎn | bamboo brush |
| 跣 | xiǎn | barefoot |
| 诜 | shēn | to question; to inform |
Words containing 先
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 风水先生 | fēng shuǐ xiān sheng | feng shui master; geomancer; stock figure in folk tales, as a wise adviser or a charlatan |
| 先发制人 | xiān fā zhì rén | (idiom) to gain the initiative by striking first; to preempt |
| 先天不足，后天失调 | xiān tiān bù zú , hòu tiān shī tiáo | to be born with a weak constitution and suffer from ill health during one's life; (fig.) t… |
| 先天性 | xiān tiān xìng | congenital; intrinsic; innate |
| 一马当先 | yī mǎ dāng xiān | (idiom) to take the lead |
| 德先生 | Dé xiān sheng | "Mr Democracy", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動|五四运动[Wu3 si4 Yun4 dong4]; abb… |
| 先天不足 | xiān tiān bù zú | to suffer from a congenital deficiency; to have an inherent weakness |
| 先进水平 | xiān jìn shuǐ píng | advanced level |
| 先王之道 | xiān wáng zhī dào | the way of former kings |
| 先行者 | xiān xíng zhě | forerunner |
| 先见之明 | xiān jiàn zhī míng | foresight |
| 大先知书 | Dà xiān zhī shū | the biblical books of the prophets |
| 事先通知 | shì xiān tōng zhī | preliminary notification; to announce in advance |
| 好好先生 | hǎo hǎo xiān sheng | Mr Goody-goody; yes-man (sb who agrees with anything) |
| 先下手为强 | xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng | (idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand |
| 后进先出 | hòu jìn xiān chū | to come late and leave first; last in, first out (LIFO) |
| 先入为主 | xiān rù wéi zhǔ | (idiom) the first impression is the strongest; to hold a preconceived notion (about sth) |
| 先王之乐 | xiān wáng zhī yuè | the music of former kings |
| 先人 | xiān rén | ancestor; forefather; sb's late father |
| 先头 | xiān tóu | (usu. of troops) in advance; in the vanguard; previously; in front; placed ahead of others |