(w)

(xiān) early; prior; former; in advance; first

先下手为强 (w)

(xiānxiàshǒuwéiqiáng) strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.

先不先 (w)

(xiānbùxiān) first of all; in the first place, ...

先令 (w)

(xiānlìng) shilling

先来后到 (w)

(xiānláihòudào) in order of arrival; first come, first served

先例 (w)

(xiānlì) antecedent; precedent

先兆 (w)

(xiānzhào) omen

先入为主 (w)

(xiānrùwéizhǔ) lit. first impression is strongest

先公 (w)

(xiāngōng) deceased father; deceased senior male figure

先到先得 (w)

(xiāndàoxiāndé) first come first served

先前 (w)

(xiānqián) before; previously

先君 (w)

(xiānjūn) my late father; my ancestors; the late emperor

先大母 (w)

(xiāndàmǔ) deceased paternal grandmother

先天 (w)

(xiāntiān) inborn; innate; natural

先天下之忧而忧,后天下之乐而乐 (w)

(xiāntiānxiàzhīyōuéryōuhòutiānxiàzhīlèérlè) The first concern is affairs of state, enjoying the pleasure comes later. Quotation from essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记 by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 範仲淹|范仲淹

先天性 (w)

(xiāntiānxìng) congenital; intrinsic; innateness

先天性缺陷 (w)

(xiāntiānxìngquēxiàn) birth defect

先天愚型 (w)

(xiāntiānyúxíng) Down syndrome; trisomy 21

先妣 (w)

(xiānbǐ) deceased mother; mother of an ancestor

先导 (w)

(xiāndǎo) guide; forerunner; pioneer

先帝遗诏 (w)

(xiāndìyízhào) posthumous edict of former emperor; Liu Bei's 劉備|刘备 edict to posterity

先后 (w)

(xiānhòu) early or late; priority; in succession; one after another

先后顺序 (w)

(xiānhòushùnxù) order of priority; sequential order

先慈 (w)

(xiāncí) deceased mother

先斩后奏 (w)

(xiānzhǎnhòuzòu) first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later

先期 (w)

(xiānqī) in advance; beforehand; premature; front-end

先期录音 (w)

(xiānqīlùyīn) pre-recording; to pre-record

先机 (w)

(xiānjī) key moment; decisive opportunity

先决 (w)

(xiānjué) prerequisite; precondition

先决问题 (w)

(xiānjuéwèntí) preliminary question; priority problem; issues requiring more immediate attention

先决条件 (w)

(xiānjuétiáojiàn) precondition; prerequisite

先河 (w)

(xiānhé) priority; sth advocated first; refers to ancient tradition: Worship the river first, then the sea.

先汉 (w)

(xiānhàn) pre-Han; China before to 200 BC

先烈 (w)

(xiānliè) martyr

先父 (w)

(xiānfù) deceased father; my late father

先王 (w)

(xiānwáng) former kings; former emperors; in Confucian writing, refers esp. to the sage rulers Yáo 堯|尧, Shùn 舜, Yǔ 禹, Tāng 湯|汤 and the kings of Zhou

先王之政 (w)

(xiānwángzhīzhèng) the rule of former kings

先王之乐 (w)

(xiānwángzhīyuè) the music of former kings

先王之道 (w)

(xiānwángzhīdào) the way of former kings

先生 (w)

(xiānsheng) Mister (Mr.)

先生 (w)

(xiānsheng) teacher; husband; doctor (topolect); CL:位[wei4]

先生们 (w)

(xiānshengmen) gentlemen

先发 (w)

(xiānfā) initial; arising first; same as 首先發起|首先发起

先发制人 (w)

(xiānfāzhìrén) to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to pre-empt; to anticipate; pre-emptive

先皇 (w)

(xiānhuáng) the late Emperor

先睹为快 (w)

(xiāndǔwéikuài) joy of first experience (idiom); the pleasure of reading sth for the first time

先知 (w)

(xiānzhī) prophet

先知先觉 (w)

(xiānzhīxiānjué) foresight; having foresight; person of foresight

先祖 (w)

(xiānzǔ) deceased grandfather; ancestry

先礼后兵 (w)

(xiānlǐhòubīng) peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence; jaw-jaw is better than war-war

先秦 (w)

(xiānqín) pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC

先声 (w)

(xiānshēng) herald; precursor; harbinger

先声夺人 (w)

(xiānshēngduórén) to gain the upper hand by a show of strength

先行 (w)

(xiānxíng) to precede others; in advance

先行者 (w)

(xiānxíngzhě) forerunner

先见 (w)

(xiānjiàn) foresight; prescience

先见之明 (w)

(xiānjiànzhīmíng) foresight

先见者 (w)

(xiānjiànzhě) seer

先觉 (w)

(xiānjué) person with foresight

先贤 (w)

(xiānxián) worthy predecessor; distinguished person of the past; former sage

先辈 (w)

(xiānbèi) elders; former generations

先进 (w)

(xiānjìn) advanced (technology); to advance

先进武器 (w)

(xiānjìnwǔqì) advanced weapon

先进水平 (w)

(xiānjìnshuǐpíng) advanced level

先进集体 (w)

(xiānjìnjítǐ) collectives

先达 (w)

(xiāndá) famous and virtuous ancestors; the great men of the past

先遣队 (w)

(xiānqiǎnduì) advance party; advance troops

先锋 (w)

(xiānfēng) herald; pioneer

先锋队 (w)

(xiānfēngduì) vanguard

先鞭 (w)

(xiānbiān) to take precedence; to make an early start; to lead the way

先头 (w)

(xiāntóu) in advance; ahead; before; previously

先驱 (w)

(xiānqū) pioneer

先驱者 (w)

(xiānqūzhě) pioneer

先验 (w)

(xiānyàn) a priori (philosophy)