漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
先: before, ahead
Also: previous, future, precedence
Oracle bone · Shang Bronze · Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Oracle bone, bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two readings, and the words that use each
センsen · on'yomi · in compounds
- 先生せんせいteacher, master, doctor
- 先週せんしゅうlast week
- 先月せんげつlast month
- 先学期せんがっきlast semester
- 先輩せんぱいsenior (at work or school)
さきsaki · kun'yomi · on its own
- 先さきpoint, end, front, lead, former
- 店先みせさきstore front
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 先ずまずfirst (of all)
Also read まず, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)止 foot + 儿 person
To go forward.
Source: Wiktionary, 先 (rev. 92307045), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Feet (儿) + ground/growing (土/𡗗). Imagine a person whose "legs" are already moving "ahead" on the ground—representing what came "before" or is "previous."”
Connections
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · xiān
Same form: 先 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 先 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 先 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin xiān most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.