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先 — beforehand; first; earlier

beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally

Pinyin
xiān
Strokes
6
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
recognition only

How to write 先: 6 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.

先 — 6 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 先

Words with 先 in the HSK syllabus: 17

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 先生xiānshengteacher; gentleman; sir; mister; husband; doctorHSK 1
  2. 先xiānbeforehand; first; earlier; at first; originallyHSK 3
  3. 首先shǒuxiānfirst of all; in the first placeHSK 4
  4. 领先lǐngxiānto lead; to be in frontHSK 5
  5. 事先shìxiānin advance; before the event; beforehand; priorHSK 5
  6. 先后xiānhòuearly or late; first and last; priorityHSK 5
  7. 先进xiānjìnsophisticated; advanced; meritorious; exemplaryHSK 5
  8. 率先shuàixiānto take the lead; to show initiativeHSK 6
  9. 先前xiānqiánbefore; previouslyHSK 6
  10. 优先yōuxiānto have priority; to take precedenceHSK 6
  11. 原先yuánxiānoriginally; original; formerHSK 6
  12. 祖先zǔxiānancestors; forebearsHSK 6
  13. 先锋xiānfēngvanguard; pioneer; avant-gardeHSK 7–9
  14. 先例xiānlìprecedentHSK 7–9
  15. 先天xiāntiānembryonic period; inborn; innate; naturalHSK 7–9
  16. 预先yùxiānbeforehand; in advanceHSK 7–9
  17. 争先恐后zhēngxiān-kǒnghòuto compete to be first; to scramble to get ahead; to rush forward for fear of falling behindHSK 7–9

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.