先 (sin1 | xian1) : first; before; temporarily

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先

sin1

xian1

[1] [n] first; lead; initiative | [ant] 後
[2] [adv] before; early on; in advance
[3] [adv] temporarily; for the time being; for now
[4] [n] elder generation; ancestor; forefather
[5] [adj] leading; pioneering; initiating
[6] [adj] preceding; early; antecedent
[7] [粵] [adv] only then/after (shortened for 先至)

Additional PoS:

Stroke count: 6

Level: 1

Radical: 儿 (#10)

This character is used in both Cantonese and Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.

先

This word has been viewed 25916 times since 30th Oct 2012, was added by sheik on 18th Mar 2007 21:22 and last edited on 24th Jun 2013 15:42

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按時間先後 on3 si4 gaan3 sin1 hau6 an4 shi2 jian4 xian1 hou4 = chronological

先生 sin1 saang1 xian1 sheng5 = mister, Mr.; husband; teacher

先人 sin1 jan4 xian1 ren2 = forefathers

先夫 sin1 fu1 xian1 fu1 = my late husband; [華] 亡夫

頭先 tau4 sin1 = just now; a moment ago 粵

先至 sin1 zi3 = not until; only then 粵

係噉先 hai6 gam2 sin1 = that's it for now; that's all for now 粵

早先 zou2 sin1 zao3 xian1 = earlier; previously 國

首先 sau2 sin1 shou3 xian1 = firstly

祖先 zou2 sin1 zu3 xian1 = ancestors
See all 109 compounds (CantoDict reports 110 compounds in total, but some may be Common Formations)

Showing all 47 examples containing 先

王先生後日就返啦。粵
Mr. Wong will be coming back the day after tomorrow.

先生，請問幾位？粵
Sir, how many people?

食飯前要先洗手。粵
One should wash one's hands before having a meal.

我走先喇。粵
I have to leave earlier.

食完飯先至計啦粵
I'll have dinner first and then sort it out!
[Lit. eat-finish-rice only-then do. Std. Chinese: 吃完飯再計算吧]

蘋果，我鐘意㓟咗皮先至食粵
I like to peel apples before eating them.
[Lit. apples, I like peel [perfective zo2] skin only-then eat.]

王先生是我爸爸的好朋友。國
Mr. Wong is a good friend of my father.

首先去圖書館，然後返屋企。粵
First go to the library, then afterwards go home.

先生話聽日唔使返學。粵
The teacher said we don't need to attend class tomorrow.

究竟有雞先，定係有蛋先呢？粵 ?!
Actually, does chicken come first or egg first?

點先可以學好廣東話呢？粵
How actually can I learn Cantonese well?
[點先 is the abbreviated form of 點樣先至。先至 means ‘really; actually’ here, often used with 呢 at the end of a sentence for emphasis. See this thread for details: http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?1,111468,111471#msg-1114]

先生，請問有啲咩可以幫到你嘅呢？粵
Sir, how can I help you?

幾時先去食飯呀？粵
When do we go having meal?

等我睇睇先。粵
Let me see (let me have a look).

頭先佢話啲伙記已經出晒去粵
Just now he said all the delivery boys had gone out.

咁重要嘅嘢，而家先至同我講粵
Why has he left telling me such an important thing until now?
[Lit. so important [possessive particle] thing, now only with me say?]

頭先總部𠹭我，所以遲咗粵
Headquarters called me just now which is why I'm late.
[Lit. Just now headquarters call me, therefore late-already]

我頭先email畀你嗰啲資料，你收到未呀？粵
Have you get the information I emailed to you just now yet?
[Lit. I just-now email give you that information, you receive not-yet [particle]?]

香港先進過台灣粵
Hong Kong is more advanced than Taiwan.
[Lit. Hong Kong advanced surpass Taiwan]

香港先進過中國好多粵
Hong Kong is much more advanced than China.
[Lit. Hong Kong advance surpass China a lot (n.b. this is only intended to illustrate Cantonese comparatives and is not necessarily accurate!)]

〝先進〞係咩詞性呀？／係一個形容詞粵
What part of speech does "先進" belong to? / It's an adjective.
[Lit. "advanced" is what part-of-speech [particle]? / is one [counter] adjective.]

將個蘋果㓟皮先至食
Peel the apple before eating it.

王先生要經廣州前往桂林。
Mr Wong wants to go to Guilin via Guangzhou.

佢走咗好多冤枉路, 先至搵到呢份工。粵
He has taken many a roundabout way before finding this job.

係環境被逼先至去標參 粵
The circumstances forced him to kidnap.

你係先至講，唔好貪口爽喎粵
Tell me only if it is true, don't say it for the mere fun of it.

真係要多謝你雪中送炭我哋先至會捱過難關粵
We really must thank you for giving us (the money, food, material needs etc) so that we can make it through the hard times.

董先生偷拍女朋友的十來歲的女兒洗澡國
Mr. Dong is taking pictures of his girlfriend's teenage daughter bathing without her knowledge.

我想學好講嘢先。當我講得好嘅時候，就會開始學寫。而家，我只係想留到最後先至學寫。粵
I want to learn to speak first . When I can speak well, then I'll learn to write. For now, I just want to leave the writing until last.
[copied from [url=http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?7,91899,91899#msg-91899]this thread.[/url]]

等我試下你嘅咖喱係咪咁耍家先！粵
Let me try and see if your curry is really that accomplished.

我哋嚟搓波先粵
Let's have a rally to warm up.
[[In a game of tennis or ping-pong or whatever.] Lit. We come stroke ball first. 我哋嚟搓吓波先 is okay too, with the altered meaning of "let's rally *for a while* to warm up." Further discussion: http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/]

同咁多對手競爭，點樣先至得令到自己脫穎而出呢粵
With so many other competitors, how can I ensure that I stand out from the rest?

真係住得背，而家先知佢移民咗！粵
I am really not well informed. It is now that I learn he has migrated.

一日飲八杯水先至夠健康！粵
Drinking eight glasses of water per day, only then we will be in good health!

等埋人齊先開飯粵
Wait till everyone has arrived and then start the meal

等我睩睩先. 粵
Let me have a look.

見到你頭先嘅樣，我諗你已經知道咗呢本唔係普通嘅筆記啦粵
Based on your expression just now, I guess you already know that this isn't an ordinary notebook.
[Lit. see-arrive you just-not (possessive particle) expression, I think you already know-already, this (counter) isn't ordinary (possessive particle) notebook.]

佢頭先話畀我聽佢想等陣去銀行幫人哋入票粵
He told me he wanted to go to the bank soon to cash a cheque for someone.
[頭先 implies 10 or 20 minutes ago; contrast with 啱啱 which implies a few seconds ago.]

首先係一般情報粵
First of all, we have some (new) information.
[Lit. first is one [counter] piece-of-intelligence]

呢袋衫躉喺你度先。粵
I'll leave this bag of clothes with you for the time being.

我𠱓你幾耐你先肯著返條褲呀？粵
How long did I have to nag you before you agreed to put your pants back on?
[http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?14,120693]

租金係,等我諗諗先,噢係嘞,總共萬一文。粵
The rent is, just let me get it right, oh yes, 11,000 dollars altogether.
[The speaker uses some discourse markers to make a reply.]

講起嚟﹐我都識何先生。粵
Now you come to mention it, I know Mr Ho as well.
[起嚟 is a verb complement which means 'once you start ...'.]

打探商業情報﹐先至係佢參加旅行團嘅真正目的。粵
Spying out business secrets is the true purpose of his joining the tour.
[先至係 (to be really) is always used for emphasis.]

揈乾隻手先至出去粵
Shake off water from your hand before going out.

啲藥水會凝底，𢳆勻佢先至好飲粵
There is sediment in the medicine, shake evenly before drinking it.

佢頭先搵你嚟。粵
He has just been looking for you.
[The final particle 嚟 indicates the completion of an action.]

Legend
國 : This term is used in Mandarin/Standard written Chinese, not Cantonese.
粵 : This term is used in Cantonese, not Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.
No icon: This term is used in both Cantonese and Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.

Forum Code to link to this word:
[big][url=http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/560/]先[/url][/big]
HTML Code to link to this word:
<a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/560/" class="chinesemed" target="_blank">先</a>
Decimal representation of this word: 先
Unicode code for this character: U+5148 (off-site link)

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