Chinese Printables Formerly Mandarin Poster
6 strokes
Character #80 · The First 1000

xiān

first

beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now

Strokes
6
Both scripts
先
Poster cell
X3

简 = 繁先 is the same in both scripts. The switch changes the example words.

01 常用词语

Common words with

  • xiānsheng Mr.; sir
  • xiānjìn advanced (technology)
  • shǒuxiān first (of all)
  • lǐngxiān to lead
  • shìxiān in advance
  • shuàixiān to take the lead
02 练习纸
Character practice sheet: nine rows, each with a model box, pinyin lines and eleven practice squares
Free printable · One page

Practice writing 先

Write 先 in the grey model box at the start of each row and its pinyin, xiān, on the lines above. Then copy it across the row, following the stroke order above.

A4 PDF US Letter PDF
Nine rows of field-grid squares, 15 mm. More about this sheet
03 千字海报
Cell X3 · 28 × 36 grid

先 is #80 on The First 1000 poster.

All 1,000 characters, printable at home.

See the poster
04 问答

Quick answers

What does 先 mean in English?
先 (xiān) means "first": beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now.
How do you pronounce 先?
先 is pronounced xiān in pinyin, with the first (high, level) tone. In Zhuyin (bopomofo) it is written ㄒㄧㄢ.
How many strokes does 先 have?
先 has 6 strokes, in both simplified and traditional Chinese.
Is 先 the same in traditional Chinese?
Yes. 先 is written the same way in simplified and traditional Chinese.
What are common words with 先?
Common words that use 先 include 先生 (xiānsheng, Mr.; sir), 先进 (xiānjìn, advanced (technology)), 首先 (shǒuxiān, first (of all)), 领先 (lǐngxiān, to lead).
How common is 先?
先 is number 80 of the 1,000 most common Chinese characters, in cell X3 of The First 1000 poster.

Definitions and word glosses adapted from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Stroke data from Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License), animated with Hanzi Writer.