HSK 4 · Function Words

首先 shǒuxiān “first (of all)” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 首先 means

  1. first (of all)
  2. in the first place

How to say 首先

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale首shǒu3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale先xiān1st tone, high and level

首先 in a sentence

  1. 首先，我一点钱也没有。其次，我也没有时间。

    Shǒuxiān, wǒ yìdiǎn qián yě méiyǒu. Qícì, wǒ yě méiyǒu shíjiān.

    First, I don’t have any money. Second, I don’t have the time.

    Sentence #5941937 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 首先，我要听听双方的意见。

    Shǒuxiān, wǒ yào tīngting shuāngfāng de yìjiàn.

    First, I want to hear both sides.

    Sentence #333844 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 首先，让我们欢迎公司的一个新成员。

    Shǒuxiān, ràng wǒmen huānyíng gōngsī de yí ge xīn chéngyuán.

    First of all, let’s welcome a new member of our company.

    Sentence #2938690 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 首先 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 首 (shǒu) drawn as one shape
首shǒuhead

首 is a single shape of 9 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 先 (xiān) drawn as one shape
先xiānbeforehand; first; earlier

先 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidA foot 止 out in front of a person 儿: ahead, first.

How to write 首先

首 9 strokes · 先 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

首先 (shǒuxiān) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 首先 (shǒuxiān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 首先

Words with 首

首都shǒudū · capital (city)首shǒu · measure word for songs and poems首饰shǒushì · jewellery首要shǒuyào · foremost元首yuánshǒu · head of state

Words with 先

先生xiānsheng · mr先xiān · first事先shìxiān · in advance祖先zǔxiān · ancestor先前xiānqián · before原先yuánxiān · originally预先yùxiān · in advance领先lǐngxiān · to lead先进xiānjìn · advanced优先yōuxiān · priority

More words: Particles & Connectors

甚至shènzhì · even十分shífēn · very是否shìfǒu · whether (or not)实在shízài · really顺便shùnbiàn · conveniently顺序shùnxù · sequence随便suíbiàn · as one wishes随着suízhe · along with

FAQs

首先 (shǒuxiān) means “first (of all)” or “in the first place”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it shǒuxiān: shǒu with a 3rd tone, then xiān with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 首先 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shouxian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 首先 from the suggestions. Typing shouxian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
首先 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.