How to say 先

  • Traditional characters: 先
  • Pinyin (Taiwan standard): xiān
  • Zhuyin (bopomofo): ㄒㄧㄢ
  • Meaning: first

Hear it in a Taiwan accent:

先 in example sentences

Real lines from CiaoSpeak’s graded stories, each with pinyin, an English translation and Taiwan-accent audio.

下次我先傳地址。你要提醒我。

xià cì wǒ xiān chuán dì zhǐ nǐ yào tí xǐng wǒ

Next time I'll send the address first. You have to remind me.

From the story 哪一家郵局？ (Which Post Office?)

我會提醒你。先提醒你一件事：民生路的郵局，三點關門。

wǒ huì tí xǐng nǐ xiān tí xǐng nǐ yí jiàn shì Mín shēng Lù de yóu jú sān diǎn guān mén

I will. Here's your first reminder: the Minsheng Road post office closes at three.

From the story 哪一家郵局？ (Which Post Office?)

下次你先打包行李，我來訂房。

xià cì nǐ xiān dǎ bāo xíng lǐ wǒ lái dìng fáng

Next time you pack the luggage. I'll do the booking.

From the story 訂錯了 (Booked Wrong)

你已經準備了，不要緊張。第一句先說：「謝謝大家今天來。」

nǐ yǐ jīng zhǔn bèi le bú yào jǐn zhāng dì yī jù xiān shuō xiè xie dà jiā jīn tiān lái

You've already prepared — don't be nervous. Open with: 'Thank you all for coming today.'

From the story 準備簡報 (Getting Ready for the Presentation)

雅婷，我有一個問題，你先不要笑。

Yǎtíng wǒ yǒu yí ge wèn tí nǐ xiān bú yào xiào

Yating, I've got a question — promise you won't laugh.

From the story 要不要換工作 (Should I Change Jobs?)

Where 先 is taught

  • Unit level: TOCFL Band A (CiaoSpeak’s placement, not the official TOCFL word list)
  • Unit: Comparing & Talking About Time
  • Lesson: Daily Routines & Frequency
  • Taught just before: 晚上
  • Taught just after: 然後