Pinyin: xiān

English: first, before

HSK Level: 3 (246 words at this level)

Tone Pattern: 1st (flat)

When to use: Use 先 when you want to talk about first. This word appears in everyday Mandarin conversations and is part of the HSK 3 core vocabulary of 246 words.

The character 先 is part of the HSK 3 vocabulary list with 246 words. Mastering this word helps build the foundation for reading, writing, and speaking Mandarin Chinese.

This character has a specific stroke order and radical decomposition. AI Lingo Chat's application includes animated stroke order diagrams and native-speaker audio for all 3587 words across all 6 HSK levels.