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- beforehand; first; earlier
- at first; originally
- for the time being; for now
- (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
- ancestors; forebears
- (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved
- embryonic period (contrasted with 後天|后天[hou4 tian1])
- inborn; innate; natural
Trad. 先後
- early or late; first and last; priority
- in succession; one after another
- the time before a certain date; in advance; beforehand; premature
- initial period
Trad. 先發
- to take preemptive action
- (sports) to be in the starting lineup
- (of a baseball pitcher) to be the starting pitcher
- pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC
Trad. 先進
- sophisticated; advanced (technology etc)
- meritorious; exemplary (deeds etc)
Trad. 先頭
- (usu. of troops) in advance; in the vanguard
- previously
- in front; placed ahead of others
- "Mr Democracy", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動|五四运动[Wu3 si4 Yun4 dong4]
- abbr. for 德謨克拉西|德谟克拉西[de2 mo2 ke4 la1 xi1]
- see also 賽先生|赛先生[Sai4 xian1 sheng5]
Trad. 賽先生
- "Mr Science", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動|五四运动[Wu3 si4 Yun4 dong4]
- abbr. for 賽因斯|赛因斯[sai4 yin1 si1]
- see also 德先生[De2 xian1 sheng5]
Trad. 優先級
- (computing) priority level
- (computing) precedence (of operators)
- Bai Xianyong (1937-), Chinese-Taiwanese-US novelist of Hui descent
Trad. 少先隊
- Young Pioneers of China, abbr. for 少年先鋒隊|少年先锋队[Shao4 nian2 Xian1 feng1 dui4]
- (idiom) to foresee the future (without divination); to know beforehand through uncanny insight
Trad. 承先啟後
- see 承前啟後|承前启后[cheng2 qian2 qi3 hou4]
Trad. 風水先生
- feng shui master
- geomancer
- stock figure in folk tales, as a wise adviser or a charlatan
Trad. 後進先出
- to come late and leave first
- last in, first out (LIFO)
Trad. 遙遙領先
- (idiom) a long way in front; to lead by a wide margin
Trad. 大先知書
- the biblical books of the prophets
- the quick-footed climb up first (idiom)
- the early bird catches the worm
- first come, first served
- to fight at the head of one's troops
- (fig.) to take the lead
- body will go with the morning dew (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
- Mr Goody-goody
- yes-man (sb who agrees with anything)
Trad. 先來後到
- (idiom) in order of arrival; first come, first served
Trad. 先入為主
- (idiom) the first impression is the strongest; to hold a preconceived notion (about sth)
Trad. 先兵後禮
- opposite of 先禮後兵|先礼后兵[xian1 li3 hou4 bing1]
- to suffer from a congenital deficiency; to have an inherent weakness
Trad. 愛羅先珂
- Vasili Eroshenko (1890-1952), Russian writer and poet who wrote in Esperanto and Japanese
- the morning dew will swiftly dissipate (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
Trad. 先帝遺詔
- posthumous edict of a former emperor
- Liu Bei's 劉備|刘备[Liu2 Bei4] edict to posterity
Trad. 先斬後奏
- lit. first execute the criminal, then report it to the emperor (idiom)
- fig. to take some drastic action without the prior approval of higher authorities
Trad. 先期錄音
- (filmmaking) to prerecord a musical soundtrack to which actors will later synchronize their performance during filming
Trad. 先決問題
- issue that needs to be addressed first (before another issue can be resolved)
Trad. 笨鳥先飛
- lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
Trad. 先發制人
- (idiom) to gain the initiative by striking first; to preempt
Trad. 聞風先遁
- to flee at hearing the news (idiom)
Trad. 爭先恐後
- striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another
Trad. 先睹為快
- (idiom) to consider it a pleasure to be among the first to read (or watch or enjoy)
- preliminary notification
- to announce in advance
Trad. 先知先覺
- having foresight
- a person of foresight
Trad. 先禮後兵
- lit. peaceful measures before using force (idiom)
- fig. diplomacy before violence; jaw-jaw is better than war-war
Trad. 先聲奪人
- to gain the upper hand by a show of strength
Trad. 敢為人先
- to dare to be first
- to pioneer (idiom)
- to leave first (courteous expression used to excuse oneself)
- (euphemism) to predecease; to die first (e.g. before one's spouse)
Trad. 先進個人
- (official accolade) advanced individual; exemplary individual
Trad. 先進先出
- (computing, inventory management etc) first in, first out
Trad. 先進集體
- (official accolade) pace-setting team; exemplary group
Trad. 少年先鋒隊
- Young Pioneers of China (primary school league, a preparation for Communist Youth League)
- abbr. to 少先隊|少先队
Trad. 惡人先告狀
- the guilty party files the suit
- the thief cries thief
- no first use (policy for nuclear weapons)
- NFU
Trad. 優先承購權
- prior purchase right
- right of first refusal (ROFR)
- preemptive right to purchase
Trad. 優先認股權
- preemptive right (in share issue)
Trad. 先下手為強
- (idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand
Trad. 百善孝為先
- of all virtues filial piety is most important (idiom)
Trad. 先天與後天
- nature versus nurture
Trad. 纏夾二先生
- annoying muddle-headed person who gabbles unintelligibly
Trad. 近水樓臺先得月
- the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first (idiom)
- to benefit from intimacy with an influential person
Trad. 春江水暖鴨先知
- lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
- fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
Trad. 出頭的椽子先爛
- lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom)
- fig. anyone who makes himself conspicuous will be targeted for attack
Trad. 國際先驅論壇報
- International Herald Tribune
Trad. 出師未捷身先死
- "he failed to complete his quest before death" (line from the poem "The Premier of Shu" 蜀相[Shu3 xiang4] by Du Fu 杜甫[Du4 Fu3])
Trad. 兵馬未動，糧草先行
- before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
- an army marches on its stomach
Trad. 先天不足，後天失調
- to be born with a weak constitution and suffer from ill health during one's life
- (fig.) to be problematic from the start, and get even worse over time
Trad. 意存筆先，畫盡意在
- the idea is present before the first stroke of the brush, when the last stroke is placed the idea shines through