先
先 — Before
before, ahead, previous, future, precedence
On’yomiセン (sen)
Kun’yomiさき (saki)
Kun’yomiまず (mazu)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 先
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先月 | せんげつ sengetsu | last month |
| 先進国 | せんしんこく senshinkoku | developed country; advanced country |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 先発 | せんぱつ senpatsu | starting in advance; starting first; going first |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority; precedence |
| 先に | さきに sakini | previously; before; earlier |
Study notes
先 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #173 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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