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Pīnyīn
English Definition Add a new word to the dictionary Traditional
HSK
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *先* | 先* | *先
beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
HSK 1
teacher / gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) / husband / (dialect) doctor / CL:
HSK 1
the day after tomorrow / life after birth (the period in which one develops through experiences, contrasted with 先天) / acquired (not innate or congenital) / a posteriori
HSK 1
sophisticated; advanced (technology etc) / meritorious; exemplary (deeds etc)
HSK 3
first (of all) / in the first place
HSK 3
to lead / to be in front
HSK 3
in advance / before the event / beforehand / prior
HSK 4
to take the lead / to show initiative
HSK 4
originally / original / former
HSK 5
to have priority; to take precedence
HSK 5
early or late; first and last; priority / in succession; one after another
HSK 5
before; previously
HSK 5
vanguard; pioneer; avant-garde
HSK 6
embryonic period (contrasted with 後天|后天) / inborn; innate; natural
HSK 7-9
precedent
HSK 7-9
beforehand; in advance
HSK 7-9
striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another
HSK 7-9
ancestors; forebears / (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved
HSK 7-9
(the) very first
bookkeeper (old)
(idiom) a long way in front; to lead by a wide margin
to start off before the others; to precede / to proceed in advance
a person of foresight / (religion) a prophet
(usu. of troops) in advance; in the vanguard / previously / in front; placed ahead of others
the quick-footed climb up first (idiom) / the early bird catches the worm / first come, first served
to pioneer / pioneer; trailblazer
(computing, inventory management etc) first in, first out
(philosophy) a priori
to take preemptive action / (sports) to be in the starting lineup / (of a baseball pitcher) to be the starting pitcher
(literary) my deceased grandfather / (literary) ancestors
(idiom) the first impression is the strongest; to hold a preconceived notion (about sth)
critical opportunity
an older generation / ancestors; forefathers
source; precursor; forerunner
herald; precursor; harbinger
(literary) ancient sage
prerequisite; necessary
omen
(idiom) to gain the initiative by striking first; to preempt
to lead the way / guide; forerunner; pioneer
martyr
at first; in the beginning
pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC
(loanword) shilling
forebears
the time before a certain date; in advance; beforehand; premature / initial period
(idiom) to take the lead
previously / before that / up to then
foresight; prescience
(idiom) to consider it a pleasure to be among the first to read (or watch or enjoy)
previously / before
to fight at the head of one's troops / (fig.) to take the lead
to compete to be first / to contest first place
the wise and learned individuals of the past
to suffer from a congenital deficiency; to have an inherent weakness
having foresight / a person of foresight
lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
lit. first execute the criminal, then report it to the emperor (idiom) / fig. to take some drastic action without the prior approval of higher authorities
to gain the upper hand by a show of strength
predictable / sth one can predict without being a clairvoyant
foresight
(literary) our learned predecessors
lit. peaceful measures before using force (idiom) / fig. diplomacy before violence; jaw-jaw is better than war-war
(idiom) in order of arrival; first come, first served
at first
to come first / previous / prior / beforehand / first / formerly
Mr Goody-goody / yes-man (sb who agrees with anything)
to take precedence
deceased father / my late father
to age prematurely
in the first instance / as a first priority
person of foresight
(literary) my late mother
to be born with a weak constitution and suffer from ill health during one's life / (fig.) to be problematic from the start, and get even worse over time
pioneer; trailblazer
preferred stock
(literary) my late mother
first come first served
my late father / my ancestors / the late emperor
former sovereigns
to leave first (courteous expression used to excuse oneself) / (euphemism) to predecease; to die first (e.g. before one's spouse)
forerunner
advanced level
congenital; intrinsic; innate
to be the first; to lead the way
emperor of a former dynasty
former ruler; founding ruler
"Mr Democracy", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動|五四运动 / abbr. for 德謨克拉西|德谟克拉西 / see also 賽先生|赛先生
Bai Xianyong (1937-), Chinese-Taiwanese-US novelist of Hui descent
daring vanguard / pioneer / leading figure
a precondition; a prerequisite
Young Pioneers of China, abbr. for 少年先鋒隊|少年先锋队
Mr. Bean (TV)
lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom) / fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
(filmmaking) to prerecord a musical soundtrack to which actors will later synchronize their performance during filming
prior; preexisting
"he failed to complete his quest before death" (line from the poem "The Premier of Shu" 蜀相 by Du Fu 杜甫)
sequential order
to come late and leave first / last in, first out (LIFO)

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