先 — how to write the kanji for “before”
先 means “before”, “ahead” and “previous”; it is a JLPT N5 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 173rd most used kanji. It starts with the left-falling sweep, before the horizontal that crosses it. On its own it is the word saki, “point; tip”. Read sen, it forms 先月 (“last month”), 先生 (“teacher”) and 先進国 (“developed country”); the native reading saki gives 先に (“previously”). Chinese reads it xiān, “beforehand”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 6
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 儿 (“legs”)
- On
- セン
- Kun
- さき, ま·ず
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdown and left
- Vertical-curve-hook ㇟centerdownwards → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 6 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
The trap in 先
Stroke 1 is the left-falling stroke and stroke 2 the horizontal, the same as in 右; 左 does the opposite.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- セン sen
- Kun (native)
- さき saki, ま·ず ma-zu
- Meanings
- before; ahead; previous; future; precedence
- Read sen
- 先月 先生 先進国 優先 先発 先進
- Read saki
- 先に
- School year
- first grade
- Newspaper rank
- 173rd of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 선 seon
- Common words
- 73 in JMdict
Words with 先
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先月 | せんげつ sengetsu | last month |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor |
| 先進国 | せんしんこく senshinkoku | developed country; advanced country |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority |
| 先発 | せんぱつ senpatsu | starting in advance; starting first |
| 先に | さきに sakini | previously; before |
| 先進 | せんしん senshin | advanced; developed |
| 先頭 | せんとう sentou | head; front |
| 先行 | せんこう senkou | going ahead; going first |
| 先輩 | せんぱい senpai | senior (at school, work, etc.); superior |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N5, in list order: