| 先来后到 | xiān lái hòu dào | in order of arrival; first come, first served |
| 先兆 | xiān zhào | omen |
| 先入为主 | xiān rù wéi zhǔ | lit. first impression is strongest |
| 先到先得 | xiān dào xiān dé | first come first served |
| 先君 | xiān jūn | my late father; my ancestors; the late emperor |
| 先大母 | xiān dà mǔ | deceased paternal grandmother |
先天下之忧而忧，
后天下之乐而乐 | 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 岳阳楼记 by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹 |
| 先天性 | xiān tiān xìng | congenital; intrinsic; innateness |
| 先天性缺陷 | xiān tiān xìng quē xiàn | birth defect |
| 先天愚型 | xiān tiān yú xíng | Down syndrome; trisomy 21 |
| 先妣 | xiān bǐ | deceased mother; mother of an ancestor |
| 先帝遗诏 | xiān dì yí zhào | posthumous edict of former emperor; Liu Bei's 刘备 edict to posterity |
| 先后顺序 | xiān hòu shùn xù | order of priority; sequential order |
| 先慈 | xiān cí | deceased mother |
| 先斩后奏 | xiān zhǎn hòu zòu | first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later |
| 先期录音 | xiān qī lù yīn | pre-recording; to pre-record |
| 先机 | xiān jī | key moment; decisive opportunity |
| 先决问题 | xiān jué wèn tí | preliminary question; priority problem; issues requiring more immediate attention |
| 先决条件 | xiān jué tiáo jiàn | precondition; prerequisite |
| 先河 | xiān hé | priority; sth advocated first; refers to ancient tradition: Worship the river first, then the sea. |
| 先汉 | xiān Hàn | pre-Han; China before to 200 BC |
| 先父 | xiān fù | deceased father; my late father |
| 先王 | xiān wáng | former kings; former emperors; in Confucian writing, refers esp. to the sage rulers Yáo 尧, Shùn 舜, Yǔ 禹, Tāng 汤 and the kings of Zhou |
| 先王之政 | xiān wáng zhī zhèng | the rule of former kings |
| 先王之乐 | xiān wáng zhī yuè | the music of former kings |
| 先王之道 | xiān wáng zhī dào | the way of former kings |
| 先生们 | xiān sheng men | gentlemen |
| 先发 | xiān fā | initial; arising first; same as 首先发起 |
| 先发制人 | xiān fā zhì rén | to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to pre-empt; to anticipate; pre-emptive |
| 先皇 | xiān Huáng | the late Emperor |
| 先睹为快 | xiān dǔ wéi kuài | joy of first experience (idiom); the pleasure of reading sth for the first time |
| 先知先觉 | xiān zhī xiān jué | foresight; having foresight; person of foresight |
| 先祖 | xiān zǔ | deceased grandfather; ancestry |
| 先礼后兵 | xiān lǐ hòu bīng | peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence; jaw-jaw is better than war-war |
| 先声夺人 | xiān shēng duó rén | to gain the upper hand by a show of strength |
| 先行者 | xiān xíng zhě | forerunner |
| 先见 | xiān jiàn | foresight; prescience |
| 先见之明 | xiān jiàn zhī míng | foresight |
| 先见者 | xiān jiàn zhě | seer |
| 先觉 | xiān jué | person with foresight |
| 先贤 | xiān xián | worthy predecessor; distinguished person of the past; former sage |
| 先进武器 | xiān jìn wǔ qì | advanced weapon |
| 先进水平 | xiān jìn shuǐ píng | advanced level |
| 先达 | xiān dá | famous and virtuous ancestors; the great men of the past |
| 先遣队 | xiān qiǎn duì | advance party; advance troops |
| 先鞭 | xiān biān | to take precedence; to make an early start; to lead the way |
| 先驱者 | xiān qū zhě | pioneer |
兵马未动，
粮草先行 | bīng mǎ wèi dòng ,
liáng cǎo xiān xíng | before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers; an army marches on its stomach |
| 其先 | qí xiān | previously; before that; up to then |
| 国际先驱论坛报 | Guó jì Xiān qū Lùn tán bào | International Herald Tribune |
