先

xiān

early; prior; former; in advance; first

Radical: 儿 HSK 1 d, g ideographic

Components & Etymology

先 decomposes into the following components:

土 儿

Words containing 先

Common multi-character words and phrases that include 先.

争先
zhēng xiān
to compete to be first
事先
shì xiān
in advance
从先
cóng xiān
优先
yōu xiān
priority
先主
xiān zhǔ
先人
xiān rén
先令
xiān lìng
shilling
先例
xiān lì
antecedent
先兆
xiān zhào
omen
先公
xiān gōng
deceased father
先决
xiān jué
prerequisite
先前
xiān qián
before

Related characters (radical 儿)

Characters that share the radical 儿.

儿 允 元 兄 充 兆 兇 光 克 兌 免 兑 兒 兓 兔 兕 兖 兗 党 兜 兟 兢 尧

Learn 先 in context

Practice this character with stroke-order training, spaced repetition, and reading passages across all HSK levels.

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