What does 先 mean in Chinese?

先 (xiān) means "first" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 先?

先 is written with 6 strokes, starting from the 儿 (legs) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 先?

The radical of 先 is 儿 (legs, Kangxi radical #10). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 儿.

How many strokes does 先 have?

The Chinese character 先 has 6 strokes.

What HSK level is 先?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 先 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

先 (xiān): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

先

xiān

first

HSK 1 character 6 strokes Radical: 儿 (legs)

Quick Answer

先 (xiān) means "first" with 6 strokes, radical 儿 (legs), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 先 →Animated stroke-order for 先 →

Pronunciation

xiān

Meaning

Primary: first

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

The oracle-bone form shows a foot or footprint (止) on top of a person (人), depicting someone walking ahead of others. The foot component is clearly placed above the human figure to signal forward motion or priority in position.

Form evolution

In bronze inscriptions the foot element remained visible above the standing person, and seal script regularised both components into stacked forms. Clerical script flattened the upper 止 into what now reads as a curved stroke over 儿, and modern 楷书 writes it as 先 with the top component no longer recognisable as a foot.

How the meaning evolved

The original sense was spatial: going before, walking in front. It extended naturally to temporal priority (earlier, first) and then to social precedence, giving terms like 先生 (teacher, literally 'born earlier') and 祖先 (ancestors). The modern adverbial use 'first, beforehand' in 先吃饭 retains this directly.

Cultural note

先生 is a good window into the semantic range: depending on context it means teacher, husband, mister, or doctor, all rooted in the idea of someone who came or learned first. Learners often confuse 先 with 前, but 先 is about sequence in time or action while 前 is about physical or temporal position.