先 sin¹ {xiān}

1. early
2. prior
3. former
4. in advance
5. first

先考 sin¹ haau² {xiān kǎo}

Deceased father

先行 sin¹ hang⁴ {xiānxíng}

(verb) Go first

先遣 sin¹ hin² {xiān qiǎn}

Send in advance

先排 sin¹ paai² {xiān pái}

not so long ago

先生 sin¹ saang¹ {xiān sheng}

(used before a man's family name) Mr.

先手 sin¹ sau² {xiān shǒu}

the first to take action

先時〔-时〕 sin¹ si⁴ {xiān shí}

in the beginning; earlier on

先知 sin¹ zi¹ {xiānzhī}

(verb) Aware

先至 sin¹ zi³ {xiān zhì}

(adv.) only then; not until; only after; then

先妣 sin¹ bei² {xiān bǐ}

1. deceased mother
2. mother of an ancestor

先鞭 sin¹ bin¹ {xiān biān}

1. to take precedence
2. to make an early start
3. to lead the way

先輩〔-辈〕 sin¹ bui³ {xiān bèi}

1. elders
2. former generations

先秦 sin¹ ceon⁴ {xiān Qín}

pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC

先慈 sin¹ ci⁴ {xiān cí}

deceased mother

先前 sin¹ cin⁴ {xiān qián}

1. before
2. previously

先達〔-达〕 sin¹ daat⁶ {xiān dá}

1. famous and virtuous ancestors
2. the great men of the past

先導〔-导〕 sin¹ dou⁶ {xiān dǎo}

1. guide
2. forerunner
3. pioneer

先發〔-发〕 sin¹ faat³ {xiān fā}

1. initial
2. arising first
3. same as 首先發起

先父 sin¹ fu⁶ {xiān fù}

1. deceased father
2. my late father

先鋒〔-锋〕 sin¹ fung¹ {xiān fēng}

1. vanguard
2. pioneer

先機〔-机〕 sin¹ gei¹ {xiān jī}

1. key moment
2. decisive opportunity

先見〔-见〕 sin¹ gin³ {xiān jiàn}

1. foresight
2. prescience

先覺〔-觉〕 sin¹ gok³ {xiān jué}

person with foresight

先公 sin¹ gung¹ {xiān gōng}

1. deceased father
2. deceased senior male figure

先君 sin¹ gwan¹ {xiān jūn}

1. my late father
2. my ancestors
3. the late emperor

先行 sin¹ hang⁴ {xiān xíng}

1. to precede others
2. in advance

先後〔-后〕 sin¹ hau⁶ {xiān hòu}

1. early or late
2. priority
3. in succession
4. one after another

先河 sin¹ ho⁴ {xiān hé}

1. priority
2. sth advocated first
3. refers to ancient tradition: Worship the river first, then the sea.

先漢〔-汉〕 sin¹ hon³ {xiān Hàn}

1. pre-Han
2. China before to 200 BC

先人 sin¹ jan⁴ {xiān rén}

1. ancestors
2. previous generations
3. my late father

先驗〔-验〕 sin¹ jim⁶ {xiān yàn}

a priori (philosophy)

先賢〔-贤〕 sin¹ jin⁴ {xiān xián}

1. worthy predecessor
2. distinguished person of the past
3. former sage

先容 sin¹ jung⁴ {xiān róng}

1. to introduce sb
2. to recommend

先期 sin¹ kei⁴ {xiān qī}

1. in advance
2. beforehand
3. premature
4. front-end

先驅〔-驱〕 sin¹ keoi¹ {xiān qū}

pioneer

先決〔-决〕 sin¹ kyut³ {xiān jué}

1. prerequisite
2. precondition

先例 sin¹ lai⁶ {xiān lì}

1. antecedent
2. precedent

先令 sin¹ ling⁶ {xiān lìng}

shilling (loanword)

先烈 sin¹ lit⁶ {xiān liè}

martyr

先生 sin¹ saang¹ {xiān sheng}

1. teacher
2. husband
3. doctor (dialect)
4. CL: 位

先生 sin¹ saang¹ {Xiān sheng}

Mister (Mr.)

先聲〔-声〕 sin¹ sing¹ {xiān shēng}

1. herald
2. precursor
3. harbinger

先兆 sin¹ siu⁶ {xiān zhào}

omen

先頭〔-头〕 sin¹ tau⁴ {xiān tóu}

1. in advance
2. ahead
3. before
4. previously

先天 sin¹ tin¹ {xiān tiān}

1. inborn
2. innate
3. natural

先王 sin¹ wong⁴ {xiān wáng}

1. former kings
2. former emperors
3. in Confucian writing, refers esp. to the sage rulers Yao 堯, Shun 舜, Yu 禹, Tang 湯 and the kings of Zhou

先皇 sin¹ wong⁴ {xiān Huáng}

the late Emperor

先進〔-进〕 sin¹ zeon³ {xiān jìn}

1. advanced (technology)
2. to advance

先知 sin¹ zi¹ {xiān zhī}

prophet

先哲 sin¹ zit³ {xiān zhé}

1. distinguished precursor
2. famous thinker of antiquity

先祖 sin¹ zou² {xiān zǔ}

1. deceased grandfather
2. ancestry

先嗰排 sin¹ go² paai⁴ {xiān g5? pái}

a while ago, earlier

先行官 sin¹ hang⁴ gun¹ {xiān xíng guān}

pioneer; avant-garde

先一排 sin¹ jat¹ paai⁴ {xiān yì pái}

a while ago, earlier

先不先 sin¹ bat¹ sin¹ {xiān bù xiān}

1. first of all
2. in the first place, ...

先大母 sin¹ daai⁶ mou⁵ {xiān dà mǔ}

deceased paternal grandmother

先鋒隊〔-锋队〕 sin¹ fung¹ deoi² {xiān fēng duì}

vanguard

先見者〔-见-〕 sin¹ gin³ ze² {xiān jiàn zhě}

seer

先行者 sin¹ hang⁴ ze² {xiān xíng zhě}

forerunner

先遣隊〔--队〕 sin¹ hin² deoi⁶ {xiān qiǎn duì}

1. advance party
2. advance troops

先驅者〔-驱-〕 sin¹ keoi¹ ze² {xiān qū zhě}

pioneer

先天性 sin¹ tin¹ sing³ {xiān tiān xìng}

1. congenital
2. intrinsic
3. innateness

先禮後兵〔-礼后-〕 sin¹ lai⁵ hau⁶ bing¹ {xiān lǐ hòu bīng}

(idiom) (figurative) Negotiation will be used to reach a solution before using military force

先帝遺詔〔--遗诏〕 sin¹ dai³ wai⁴ ziu³ {xiān dì yí zhào}

1. posthumous edict of former emperor
2. Liu Bei's 劉備 edict to posterity

先睹為快〔--为-〕 sin¹ dou² wai⁴ faai³ {xiān dǔ wéi kuài}

1. joy of first experience (idiom)
2. the pleasure of reading sth for the first time

先到先得 sin¹ dou³ sin¹ dak¹ {xiān dào xiān dé}

first come first served

先發制人〔-发--〕 sin¹ faat³ zai³ jan⁴ {xiān fā zhì rén}

1. to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to pre-empt
2. to anticipate
3. pre-emptive

先見之明〔-见--〕 sin¹ gin³ zi¹ ming⁴ {xiān jiàn zhī míng}

foresight

先後順序〔-后顺-〕 sin¹ hau⁶ seon⁶ zeoi⁶ {xiān hòu shùn xù}

1. order of priority
2. sequential order

先入為主〔--为-〕 sin¹ jap⁶ wai⁴ zyu² {xiān rù wéi zhǔ}

lit. first impression is strongest

先有後婚〔--后-〕 sin¹ jau⁵ hau⁶ fan¹ {xiān yǒu hòu hūn}

1. marriage arranged following a pregnancy
2. marriage necessitated by an unplanned pregnancy

先驗概率〔-验--〕 sin¹ jim⁶ koi³ leot² {xiān yàn gài lǜ}

prior probability (statistics)

先期錄音〔--录-〕 sin¹ kei⁴ luk⁶ jam¹ {xiān qī lù yīn}

1. pre-recording
2. to pre-record

先決問題〔-决问题〕 sin¹ kyut³ man⁶ tai⁴ {xiān jué wèn tí}

1. preliminary question
2. priority problem
3. issues requiring more immediate attention

先決條件〔-决条-〕 sin¹ kyut³ tiu⁴ gin² {xiān jué tiáo jiàn}

1. precondition
2. prerequisite

先禮後兵〔-礼后-〕 sin¹ lai⁵ hau⁶ bing¹ {xiān lǐ hòu bīng}

1. peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
2. jaw-jaw is better than war-war

先來後到〔-来后-〕 sin¹ loi⁴ hau⁶ dou³ {xiān lái hòu dào}

1. in order of arrival
2. first come, first served

先聲奪人〔-声夺-〕 sin¹ sing¹ dyut⁶ jan⁴ {xiān shēng duó rén}

to gain the upper hand by a show of strength

先天不足 sin¹ tin¹ bat¹ zuk¹ {xiān tiān bù zú}

1. congenital deficiency
2. inherent weakness

先天愚型 sin¹ tin¹ jyu⁴ jing⁴ {xiān tiān yú xíng}

1. Down syndrome
2. trisomy 21

先王之道 sin¹ wong⁴ zi¹ dou⁶ {xiān wáng zhī dào}

the way of former kings

先王之樂〔---乐〕 sin¹ wong⁴ zi¹ ngok⁶ {xiān wáng zhī yuè}

the music of former kings

先王之政 sin¹ wong⁴ zi¹ zing³ {xiān wáng zhī zhèng}

the rule of former kings

先斬後奏〔-斩后-〕 sin¹ zaam² hau⁶ zau³ {xiān zhǎn hòu zòu}

first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later

先進武器〔-进--〕 sin¹ zeon³ mou⁵ hei³ {xiān jìn wǔ qì}

advanced weapon

先進水平〔-进--〕 sin¹ zeon³ seoi² ping⁴ {xiān jìn shuǐ píng}

advanced level

先進集體〔-进-体〕 sin¹ zeon³ zaap⁶ tai² {xiān jìn jí tǐ}

collectives

先知先覺〔---觉〕 sin¹ zi¹ sin¹ gok³ {xiān zhī xiān jué}

1. foresight
2. having foresight
3. person of foresight

先使未來錢〔---来钱〕 sin¹ sai² mei⁶ loi⁴ cin⁴ {xiān shǐ wèi lái qián}

spending on credit (normally by using credit card or taking a loan)

先下手為強〔---为强〕 sin¹ haa⁶ sau² wai⁴ koeng⁴ {xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng}

strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.

先天性缺陷 sin¹ tin¹ sing³ kyut³ haam⁶ {xiān tiān xìng quē xiàn}

birth defect

先小人,後君子〔----后--〕 sin¹ siu² jan⁴ hau⁶ gwan¹ zi² {xiān xiǎo rén , hòu jūn zǐ}

discuss or finalise about the practicals or actuals before emotions and relationships comes into consideration (business)

先敬羅衣後敬人〔--罗-后--〕 sin¹ ging³ lo⁴ ji¹ hau⁶ ging³ jan⁴ {xiān jìng luó yī hòu jìng rén}

judge people by one's clothing

先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂〔----忧-忧-后---乐-乐〕 sin¹ tin¹ haa⁶ zi¹ jau¹ ji⁴ jau¹ ，hau⁶ tin¹ haa⁶ zi¹ lok⁶ ji⁴ lok⁶ {xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè}

The first concern is affairs of state, enjoying the pleasure comes later. Quotation from essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記 by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 範仲淹