先

free online chinese language learning.
Pronunciation : xiān

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Meaning :
  1. earlier; before doing something else. (adj)
  2. (used with a negative word “不” , “别” , etc.) for the time being. (adv)
  3. late; deceased. (adj)
  4. elder generation; ancestor. (n)
Radical : 儿
Strokes : 6
Traditional : 先
Usage : 45.5%
Common Words / Phrases:
1.
先前
xiān qián

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 : before; earlier
2.
先生
xiān sheng

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 : Mr.; husband
3.
先天
xiān tiān

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 : congenital
4.
先进
xiān jìn

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 : advanced
5.
祖先
zǔ xiān

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 : ancestry; ancestors
6.
首先
shǒu xiān

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 : first
7.
抢先
qiǎng xiān

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 : forestall
Sentences:
1. He arrived earlier than I did.
tā bǐ wǒ xiān dào 。
他 比 我 先 到 。

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他 : he
比 : compare
我 : me
先 : earlier
到 : arrive
2. Don’t leave yet, I want to have a word with you.
nǐ xiān bié zǒu ， wǒ yǒu huà gēn nǐ shuō 。
你 先 别 走 ， 我 有 话 跟 你 说 。

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你 : you
先 : (used with a negative word “不” , “别” , etc.) for the time being
别 : don’t
走 : leave
我 : I
有 : have
话 : word; talk (noun)
跟 : with
说 : talk (verb)
3. This gentleman wishes to see the general manager.
zhè wèi xiān sheng yào jiàn zǒng jīng lǐ 。
这 位 先 生 要 见 总 经 理 。

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这 : this
位 : measure word
先生 : gentleman
要 : want to
见 : see, meet
总经理 : general manager
4. When doing business, one must first research the market.
zuò shēng yì shǒu xiān yào yán jiū shì chǎng 。
做 生 意 首 先 要 研 究 市 场 。

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做 : do
生意 : business
首先 : first
要 : have to, need to
研究 : research
市场 : market
5. Get everything ready beforehand.
shì xiān zuò hǎo zhǔn bèi 。
事 先 做 好 准 备 。

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事先 : beforehand
做 : do
好 : good, enough
准备 : prepare, preparation
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July 30th, 2010 in Daily Word, Level 1 | tags: , , , , , ,

Comments (2)

ChrisJuly 30th, 2010 at 8:19 am

This is a wonderful tool, especially your example sentences. However, I was wondering if you could group the characters into words when showing the example sentences. It makes it easier to see what goes with what. Google translate will automatically do this for example.

[Reply]

Min Min Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am

Hi Chris,
Actually I have grouped the characters into words and explained the meaning of each word in the right hand side boxes. Maybe it is not that easier to read.
Thanks for your suggestion.

[Reply]

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