先 means “ahead / previous”

Watch: Gen and Shibamaru learn 先

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Where 先 comes from

先 is often explained as a foot (the top part) in front of a person (the bottom part): someone going ahead.

Stroke order (6 strokes)

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6

Words with 先

• 

  先生せんせい

  SENSEI

  teacher

• 

  先週せんしゅう

  SENSHUU

  last week

• 

  先月せんげつ

  SENGETSU

  last month

• 

  お先に どうぞおさきに どうぞ

  OSAKINI DOUZO

  after you

The part of each word written with 先 is shown in orange. Audio: the readings from our video.

Reading tips

• 先生 (SENSEI) is not only for teachers. People in Japan also call doctors and other experts SENSEI.
• In 先週 (SENSHUU, last week) and 先月 (SENGETSU, last month), 先 means "before."
• お先に どうぞ (OSAKI NI DOUZO) means "After you." お先に しつれいします (OSAKI NI SHITSUREI SHIMASU) is what people say when they leave work before others.

In the video

• Shibamaruお先に どうぞAfter you.
• Genじゃあ、お先に！Then I'll go first!

Example sentences

• 先生、しつもんが あります。

  SENSEI, SHITSUMON GA ARIMASU.

  Teacher, I have a question.

• 先週 日本へ いきました。

  SENSHUU NIHON E IKIMASHITA.

  I went to Japan last week.

Keep learning kanji

• GENKI I Textbook (3rd Edition)

  Beginner

  A popular first textbook used in many university courses. Each lesson has a dialogue, grammar explanations in English, and plenty of practice.

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• Minna no Nihongo Beginner I Main Textbook (2nd Edition)

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  Written entirely in Japanese, with lots of sentence-pattern practice. Use it together with the Translation & Grammar Notes book.

  View on Amazon