首 先

shǒu xiāndictionary entry

first of all / in the first place

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-25a31816bdc1a2c0. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

首先首先 [shou3 xian1] /first of all; in the first place/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

首
shǒu
head / chief / first (occasion, thing etc) / classifier for poems, songs etc
先
xiān
beforehand / first / earlier / at first / originally / for the time being / for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.