How to say “lead” in Chinese
lead, be in the lead
“Lead” in Chinese is 领先, lǐng xiān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
领先 is read lǐng xiān: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the right, 页 “head”: the first meaning is neck, hence “collar”. On the left, 令 lìng hints at the sound.
先生 means “born earlier”: a respectful way to address an elder.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “领先”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 领先. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我们领先两分wǒmenlǐngxiānliǎngfēnWe're up by two points.
More words from the lesson “What's the score?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “lead” in Chinese?
“Lead” in Chinese is 领先, pinyin lǐngxiān.
What does 领先 mean?
领先 (lǐngxiān) means “lead, be in the lead”.
How do you write 领先?
领先 is 2 characters: 领 (lǐng) — collar; lead; receive; 先 (xiān) — first, before. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 领先?
领先 is read lǐngxiān. Tones: lǐng — third tone, xiān — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“lead” in the lesson “What's the score?”
This word is from the topic “Sports” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free