先后

先后 xiānhòu

Succession (one after another - early or late - priority)

xianhou

What 先后 means

  1. Succession (one after another - early or late - priority)

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 先后 will read it the same way this page does.

Recognise a piece of 先后 but not the character it belongs to? Pick the parts in the component character finder and it will name the character for you — free for every character, with nothing to sign in to.

Character by character

先后 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

先
xiān
Earlier (before - first - prior - former - late)
后
hòu
Back (after - later - offspring)

How to write 先后

Stroke order is not decoration — it is what makes handwriting legible and what dictionary lookup by stroke count depends on.

Practise 先后 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

Questions about 先后

What does 先后 mean in English?

先后 is pronounced xiānhòu and means Succession (one after another - early or late - priority).

How do you pronounce 先后?

先后 is xiānhòu in pinyin — written xianhou without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 先后?

先后 is written with 2 characters: 先 (xiān) Earlier (before - first - prior - former - late), 后 (hòu) Back (after - later - offspring). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

Keep going

Translate a whole sentence containing 先后 with the Chinese to Pinyin translator, drill it with HSK flashcards, or save it above and review it on your review deck.

Browse the dictionary

Every word on this site links to its entry — tap any word in a graded reader, a translation result or an HSK list to land on a page like this one.

Dictionary index