How to say “first” in Chinese
first, ahead of others
“First” in Chinese is 率先, shuài xiān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
率先 is read shuài 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
Second reading: shuài, “to lead”.
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 “率先”.
More words from the lesson “Very and more and more”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “first” in Chinese?
“First” in Chinese is 率先, pinyin shuàixiān.
What does 率先 mean?
率先 (shuàixiān) means “first, ahead of others”.
How do you write 率先?
率先 is 2 characters: 率 (lǜ) — rate, ratio; 先 (xiān) — first, before. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 率先?
率先 is read shuàixiān. Tones: shuài — fourth tone, xiān — first tone. The page has an audio recording.
“first” in the lesson “Very and more and more”
This word is from the topic “Adverbs: exactly how” of HSK 6. 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