6.19Usage: +++++
先
Precedence / First Antonym. 6.22 后
- 优先 (yōu xiān) Priority Literal. Superior and precedence
- 首先 (shǒu xiān) First and foremost / Firstly Literal. Lead precedence；
- 原先 (yuán xiān) Formerly / Initially Literal. Originally first
- 预先 (yù xiān) In advance Literal. Prior and first
+ A LITTLE MORE +
- 先人 (xiān rén) or 祖先 (zǔ xiān) Ancestors
- 后人 (hòu rén) or 后代 (hòu dài) Later generation
先苦后甜 (xiān kǔ hòu tián) Literal. Firstly bitter, subsequently sweet – derived from tea drinking where the first brew is often bitter, followed by more appealing rounds subsequently after. This is widely used to express "beginning is always the hardest", similar to 苦尽甘来
先上车后补票 (xiān shàng chē hòu bǔ piào) Literal. First, get up the carriage; afterwards, make up for the ticket – doing somethin in the reversed sequence (supposedly getting the ticket before boarding the train). Often used these days in reference to a shotgun wedding.