先

xiān

x+iān·1st tone

beforehand; first; earlier

Radical: 儿 Strokes: 6 HSK 1

Structure: Top-bottomFrequency: Most common

Same radical

儿光元党充兔兆兄允兜兀兑

Same radical

儿光元党充兔兆兄允兜兀兑兢兕

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Stroke Order · 6 strokes (click to expand)

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Character Decomposition

Etymology

Someone stepping 止 in front of another person 儿

Meanings

beforehand; first; earlier

at first; originally

for the time being; for now

(prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

xiān

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Words with 先 458 total

(dialect) before · in the past · previously从先cóng xiān in the first instance · as a first priority尽先jǐn xiān at first开先kāi xiān in advance · before the event · beforehand · prior事先shì xiān to lead · to be in front领先lǐng xiān at first; in the beginning起先qǐ xiān

Idioms with 先 106 total Chain

lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities笨鸟先飞bèn niǎo xiān fēi before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers · an army marches on its stomach兵马未动，粮草先行bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng