首先

Chinese

		head; chief; first (occasion) head; chief; first (occasion); first (thing); measure word for poems	early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first
simp. and trad. (首先)		首	先

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shǒuxiān

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄡˇ ㄒㄧㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sau² sin¹

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sú-siên
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): siú-sian

  (Teochew, Peng'im): siu² soin¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shǒuxiān
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄡˇ ㄒㄧㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shǒusian
    • Wade–Giles: shou³-hsien¹
    • Yale: shǒu-syān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shooushian
    • Palladius: шоусянь (šousjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sau² sin¹
    • Yale: sáu sīn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sau² sin¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: seo² xin¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐu̯³⁵ siːn⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sú-siên
    • Hakka Romanization System: su` xien´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: su³ xian¹
    • Sinological IPA: /su³¹ si̯en²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siú-sian
    • Tâi-lô: siú-sian
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siwsiefn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɛn⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siu⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ siɛn³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɛn⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /siu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɛn⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siu⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɛn⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: siu² soin¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: siú soiⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siu⁵²⁻³⁵ sõĩ³³/

Adverb

首先

1. first of all; first; firstly

   首先看到的是泰晤士河的出海口。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   Shǒuxiān kàndào de shì Tàiwùshì Hé de chūhǎikǒu. [Pinyin]

   The first thing (I/we) saw was the estuary of Thames.

2. primarily

Synonyms

• (Xiang) 先不先 (xiānbùxiān)