先
xiān
HSK level: HSK 3
Meaning
beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
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Characters
Examples
汤姆先打了我。
Tāng mǔ xiān dǎ le wǒ。
Tom hit me first.
我先谢谢你的帮忙。
wǒ xiān xiè xie nǐ de bāng máng。
Thank you in advance for your help.
他们比我们先开始。
tā men bǐ wǒ men xiān kāi shǐ。
They had started earlier than we had.
Words with this character
先生 xiān sheng teacher首先 shǒu xiān first of all领先 lǐng xiān to lead先进 xiān jìn sophisticated优先 yōu xiān to have priority事先 shì xiān in advance原先 yuán xiān originally先前 xiān qián before先后 xiān hòu early or late预先 yù xiān beforehand祖先 zǔ xiān ancestors先锋 xiān fēng vanguard率先 shuài xiān to take the lead先例 xiān lì precedent先天 xiān tiān embryonic period争先恐后 zhēng xiān kǒng hòu to compete to be first先行者 xiān xíng zhě forerunner先下手为强 xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng strike first to gain the upper hand先汉 Xiān Hàn Western Han dynasty, aka 西漢|西汉[Xi1 Han4]巴先 bā xiān percent从先 cóng xiān before尽先 jǐn xiān in the first instance开先 kāi xiān at first