先 xiān in a sentence
Earlier (before - first - prior - former - late)
先 (xiān) means Earlier (before - first - prior - former - late). Below are 24 of the 87 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
你 先 走吧，我还有事。
Nǐ xiān zǒu ba, wǒ hái yǒu shì.
You go ahead — I still have things to do.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 先
我们 先 看地图，再决定。
Wǒmen xiān kàn dìtú, zài juédìng.
Let's look at the map first, then decide.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 先
看病要 先 挂号。
Kàn bìng yào xiān guà hào.
You need to register before seeing the doctor.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 挂号
请 先 敲门再进来。
Qǐng xiān qiāo mén zài jìnlái.
Please knock before coming in.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 敲
起床后 先 伸伸腰。
Qǐchuáng hòu xiān shēnshen yāo.
Stretch your back first after getting up.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 伸
他事 先 做了准备。
Tā shìxiān zuò le zhǔnbèi.
He made preparations beforehand.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 事先
你 先 说，我接着说。
Nǐ xiān shuō, wǒ jiēzhe shuō.
You speak first and I will follow.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 接着
Reading these is one thing; producing 先 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
可是身体 先 不同意了。
kěshì shēntǐ xiān bùtóng yì le / liǎo / liào.
But my body disagreed first.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Facing Pressure
她总是 先 问：“你觉得呢？”
tā zǒngshì xiān wèn:" nǐ juéde ne / ní?"
She always asks first, "What do you think?"
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Chinese Teacher
我敲了门，开门的是一位老 先 生。
wǒ qiāo le / liǎo / liào mén, kāimén de / dì shì yī wèi lǎo xiānsheng.
I knocked, and an elderly man opened the door.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · The Neighbour Upstairs
那天我 先 坐公共汽车去了商场，又去了图书馆。
nà / nèi tiān wǒ xiān zuò gōnggòngqìchē qùle shāngchǎng, yòu qùle túshūguǎn.
That day I'd taken the bus to the shopping centre, then gone to the library.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Losing My Phone
从那以后，我学会了一件事： 先 问清楚，再生气。
cóng nà / nèi yǐhòu, wǒ xuéhuìle yíjiàn shì: xiān wèn qīngchu, zài shēngqì.
Since then I've learned one thing: find out first, get angry afterwards.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Misunderstanding
那位老 先 生跟我说：“我七年前开始的。我唯一后悔的是没有更早开始。”
nàiwèi lǎo xiānsheng gēn wǒ shuō:" wǒ qī niánqián kāishǐ de / dì. wǒ wéi / wěi yī hòuhuǐ de / dì shì méiyǒu gèng / gēng zǎo kāishǐ."
The elderly gentleman said to me, "I started seven years ago. My only regret is not starting sooner."
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Decision at Thirty
From the travel phrasebook
我 先 干为敬。
Wǒ xiān gān wéi jìng.
I'll empty mine first, out of respect.
Travel phrasebook · Business dining and toasting
我 先 介绍一下。
Wǒ xiān jièshào yíxià.
Let me introduce this first.
Travel phrasebook · Meetings and introductions
可以 先 下试单吗？
Kěyǐ xiān xià shìdān ma?
Could we place a trial order first?
Travel phrasebook · Negotiating and pricing
可以 先 拍一个吗？
Kěyǐ xiān pāi yí ge ma?
Could I order just one first?
Travel phrasebook · Sourcing online (1688 and Alibaba)
可以 先 付百分之三十吗？
Kěyǐ xiān fù bǎi fēn zhī sānshí ma?
Could we pay 30% up front?
Travel phrasebook · Negotiating and pricing
先 appears in 87 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Words that contain 先
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 先
How is 先 used in a sentence?
This page shows 87 sentences using 先 (xiān, "Earlier (before - first - prior - former - late)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 先 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 先 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 先 an HSK word?
Yes — 先 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 先?
The dictionary page for 先 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 先, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 3 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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