先

See also: 失 and 矢
先 U+5148, 先
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5148
← 兇
[U+5147] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 光 →
[U+5149]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

先 (radical 10, 儿+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 竹土竹山 (HGHU), four-corner 24211, composition ⿱⺧儿)

References

  • KangXi: page 124, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1349
  • Dae Jaweon: page 260, character 6
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 267, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+5148

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 先

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 先
Shang Western Zhou Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script

j20804

j20805

j20806

j20807

j20808

j20809

j20810

j20811

j20812

j20813

j20814

j20815

j20816

j20817

j20818

j20819

j20820

j20821

j20822

j20823

j20824

j20825

j20826

j20827

j20828

j20829

j20830

j20831

j20832

j20833

j20834

j20835

j20836

j20837

j20838

j20839

j20840

j20841

j20842

j20843

j20844

j20845

j20846

j20847

j20848

j20849

j20850

j20851

j20852

j20853

j20854

j20855

j20856

j20857

j20858

j20859

j20860

j20861

j20862

j20863

j20864

j20865

j20866

j20867

j20868

j20869

j20870

j20871

j20872

j20873

j20874

j20875

j20876

j20877

j20878

j20879

j20880

j20881

j20882

j20883

j20884

j20885

j20886

j20887

j20888

j20889

j20890

j20891

j20892

j20893

j20894

Bronze inscriptions

b13509

b13510

b13511

b13512

b13513

b13514

b13515

b13516

b13517

b13518

b13519

b13520

b13521

b13522

b13523

b13524

b13525

b13526

b13527

b13528

b13529

b13530

b13531

b13532

b13533

b13534

b13535

b13536

b13537

b13538

b13539

b13540

Small seal script

s06218

Transcribed ancient scripts

L31820

L31821

L31822

L31823

L31824

L31825

L06548

L06549

L06550

L06551

L06552

L06553

L06541

L06542

L06543

L06544

L06545

L06546

L06547

L06554

L06555

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (先) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
洗 *sɯːlʔ, *sɯːnʔ
先 *sɯːn, *sɯːns
銑 *sɯːnʔ
跣 *sɯːnʔ
毨 *sɯːnʔ
姺 *sɯːnʔ, *srin
筅 *sɯːnʔ
冼 *sɯːnʔ
箲 *sɯːnʔ
駪 *srin
兟 *srin
詵 *srin
侁 *srin

Pronunciation 1

Note:
  • sĕng - vernacular;
  • siĕng - literary.
Note:
  • seng/suiⁿ - vernacular;
  • sin - vernacular (limited, e.g. 先生);
  • sian - literary.
Note:
  • soin1 - vernacular;
  • sing1 - literary.
  • Dialectal data▼
Variety Location 先
Mandarin Beijing /ɕian⁵⁵/
Harbin /ɕian⁴⁴/
Tianjin /t͡ɕʰian²¹/
/ɕian²¹/
Jinan /ɕiã²¹³/
Qingdao /siã²¹³/
Zhengzhou /sian²⁴/
Xi'an /ɕiã²¹/
Xining /ɕiã⁴⁴/
Yinchuan /ɕian⁴⁴/
Lanzhou /ɕiɛ̃n³¹/
Ürümqi /ɕian⁴⁴/
Wuhan /ɕiɛn⁵⁵/
Chengdu /ɕian⁵⁵/
Guiyang /ɕian⁵⁵/
Kunming /ɕiɛ̃⁴⁴/
Nanjing /sien³¹/
Hefei /ɕiĩ²¹/
/t͡ɕʰiĩ²¹/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕie¹¹/
Pingyao /ɕie̞¹³/
Hohhot /ɕie³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ɕi⁵³/
Suzhou /siɪ⁵⁵/
Hangzhou /ɕiẽ̞³³/
Wenzhou /ɕi³³/
Hui Shexian /se³¹/
Tunxi /siɛ¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /siẽ³³/
Xiangtan /siẽ³³/
Gan Nanchang /ɕiɛn⁴²/
Hakka Meixian /sian⁴⁴/
Taoyuan /sien²⁴/
Cantonese Guangzhou /sin⁵³/
Nanning /ɬin⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /sin⁵⁵/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /sian⁵⁵/
/siŋ⁵⁵/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /sɛiŋ⁴⁴/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /siŋ⁵⁴/
Shantou (Min Nan) /siŋ³³/
/sõi³³/
Haikou (Min Nan) /sin²³/
/ti²³/
/tai²³/
Rime
Character 先
Reading # 1/2
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 先 (85)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) IV
Fanqie 蘇前切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /sen/
Pan
Wuyun		 /sen/
Shao
Rongfen		 /sɛn/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /sɛn/
Li
Rong		 /sen/
Wang
Li		 /sien/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /sien/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 xiān
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 先
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 xiān
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ sen ›
Old
Chinese		 /*sˤər/
English first

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 先
Reading # 1/2
No. 13458
Phonetic
component		 先
Rime
group		 文
Rime
subdivision		 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 先
Old
Chinese		 /*sɯːn/

Definitions

先

  1. to advance
  2. first; ahead of time; before; beforehand
    我要先去洗手間。 / 我要先去洗手间。  ―  Wǒ yào xiān qù xǐshǒujiān.  ―  I need to go to the bathroom first.
    我要去廁所先。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    我要去厕所先。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    Ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 ci3 so2 sin1. [Jyutping]
    I need to go to the bathroom first.
    先兩日 / 先两日 [Cantonese]  ―  sin1 loeng5 jat6 [Jyutping]  ―  day before yesterday; two days ago
  3. things of utmost importance
  4. ancient
  5. dead
  6. ancestor
  7. Short for 先生 (xiānshēng).
  8. the past
  9. Short for 先手 (xiānshǒu).
  10. (Cantonese) only then
    佢瞓到而家先瞓醒覺。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢瞓到而家先瞓醒觉。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    Keoi5 fan3 dou3 ji4 gaa1 sin1 fan3 seng2 gaau3. [Jyutping]
    He slept so long that he only woke up just now.
    呢啲先係唱歌。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    呢啲先系唱歌。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    Nei1 di1 sin1 hai6 coeng3 go1. [Jyutping]
    This is true singing.
  11. (Cantonese) first off
    你買咗未先？ / 你买咗未先？ [Cantonese]  ―  Nei5 maai5 zo2 mei6 sin1? [Jyutping]  ―  First off, have you even bought it yet?
  12. A surname​.
Usage notes
  • (first; beforehand): In Standard Mandarin, 先 comes before the verb; in Cantonese and Southeast Asian Mandarin, 先 comes after the verb.
Synonyms

Compounds

References

Pronunciation 2

Rime
Character 先
Reading # 2/2
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 先 (85)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) IV
Fanqie 蘇佃切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /senH/
Pan
Wuyun		 /senH/
Shao
Rongfen		 /sɛnH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /sɛnH/
Li
Rong		 /senH/
Wang
Li		 /sienH/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /sienH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 xiàn
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 先
Reading # 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 xiàn
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ senH ›
Old
Chinese		 /*sˤər-s/
English go first

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 先
Reading # 2/2
No. 13467
Phonetic
component		 先
Rime
group		 文
Rime
subdivision		 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 霰
Old
Chinese		 /*sɯːns/

Definitions

先

  1. to guide
  2. earlier
  3. to surpass
  4. originally
  5. to introduce
  6. term to address older brother's wife

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

先

  1. Only used in 先馬／先马.

Japanese

Kanji

先

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Etymology

Kanji in this term
先
さき
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Noun

先 (hiragana さき, rōmaji saki)

  1. before, previous
  2. end, tip
  3. destination
  4. future
  5. sequel
  6. ahead

Compounds

Derived terms
  • 行き先
  • 生い先
  • 老い先
  • 送り先
  • お先
  • 此の先
  • 差し出し先
  • 仕入れ先
  • 立ち回り先
  • 使い先
  • 勤め先
  • 問い合わせ先
  • 嫁ぎ先
  • 届け先
  • 取り引き先
  • 引っ越し先
Idioms
  • 先を越す

Korean

Hanja

先 • (seon)

  • Eumhun:
    • Sound (hangeul): 선
    • Name (hangeul): 먼저 (revised: meonjeo, McCune–Reischauer: mŏnjŏ, Yale: mence)
  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

先 (tiên, ten, teng)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
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