Meaning & readings
before, ahead, previous, future, precedence
Origin
The character 先 appears to be a pictograph of a foot or leg stepping forward. The upper part represents the foot itself, while the lower strokes show forward movement or the ground. This image of a foot moving ahead naturally came to represent the concept of "before" or "ahead" — something that goes in front or precedes something else. Over time, the shape became more stylized, but the core idea of forward progression remained tied to meanings like "previous," "future," and "precedence."
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (先).
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 6
- Kangxi radical
- 10
- Grade
- Grade 1 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #173 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 4
- Unicode
- U+05148