HSK 3 vocabulary › 先
先
先 in English: early; prior
xiān
early; prior
How to pronounce 先
xiān (without tone marks: xian). xiān is a first (high, level) tone.
Characters in 先
先 xiān
beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now
beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now
Example sentences with 先
| 她们先到附近的医院休息。 | from Help in the Rain |
| 她先喝一杯水，再走到家附近的小店买早饭。 | from Morning at the Small Shop |
| 先复习卡片，再听一个短故事，最后开口说三句话。 | from Keep Going for Ten Minutes |
Related words
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher; gentleman | HSK 1 |
| 首先 | shǒu xiān | first (of all); in the first place | HSK 4 |
| 事先 | shì xiān | in advance; before the event | HSK 5 |
| 领先 | lǐng xiān | to lead; to be in front | HSK 6 |
| 先进 | xiān jìn | advanced (technology); to advance | HSK 6 |
| 先前 | xiān qián | before; previously | HSK 6 |
| 优先 | yōu xiān | to have priority; to take precedence | HSK 6 |
| 预先 | yù xiān | beforehand; in advance | HSK 6 |
| 原先 | yuán xiān | originally; original | HSK 6 |
| 争先恐后 | zhēng xiān kǒng hòu | striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another | HSK 6 |