| 先 | xiān | early; prior; former; in advance; first |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher; husband; doctor (topolect); CL:位; Mister (Mr.) |
| 先进 | xiān jìn | advanced (technology); to advance |
| 先后 | xiān hòu | early or late; priority; in succession; one after another |
| 先行 | xiān xíng | to precede others; in advance |
| 先锋 | xiān fēng | herald; pioneer |
| 先前 | xiān qián | before; previously |
| 先决 | xiān jué | prerequisite; precondition |
| 先天 | xiān tiān | inborn; innate; natural |
| 先驱 | xiān qū | pioneer |
| 先锋队 | xiān fēng duì | vanguard |
| 先令 | xiān lìng | shilling |
| 先例 | xiān lì | antecedent; precedent |
| 先烈 | xiān liè | martyr |
| 先秦 | xiān Qín | pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC |
| 先导 | xiān dǎo | guide; forerunner; pioneer |
| 先知 | xiān zhī | prophet |
| 先声 | xiān shēng | herald; precursor; harbinger |
| 先验 | xiān yàn | a priori and a posteriori (philosophy) |
| 先进集体 | xiān jìn jí tǐ | collectives |
| 先期 | xiān qī | in advance; beforehand; premature; front-end |
| 先辈 | xiān bèi | elders; former generations |
| 先公 | xiān gōng | deceased father; deceased senior male figure |
| 先头 | xiān tóu | in advance; ahead; before; previously |
| 先下手为强 | xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng | strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage. |
| 先不先 | xiān bù xiān | first of all; in the first place, ... |
| 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 |
