早先
zǎo xiān
Pinyin

Definition

早先
 - 
zǎo xiān
  1. previously
  2. before

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

先
xiān
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 prior
  3. 3 former
  4. 4 in advance
  5. 5 first
先生
Xiān sheng
  1. 1 Mister (Mr.)
早
zǎo
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 morning
  3. 3 Good morning!
  4. 4 long ago
  5. 5 prematurely
早上
zǎo shang
  1. 1 early morning
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
早安
zǎo ān
  1. 1 Good morning!
早起
zǎo qǐ
  1. 1 to get up early
一大早
yī dà zǎo
  1. 1 at dawn
  2. 2 at first light
  3. 3 first thing in the morning
一早
yī zǎo
  1. 1 early in the morning
  2. 2 at dawn
优先
yōu xiān
  1. 1 to have priority
  2. 2 to take precedence
先进
xiān jìn
  1. 1 advanced (technology)
  2. 2 to advance
先锋
xiān fēng
  1. 1 vanguard
  2. 2 pioneer
  3. 3 avant-garde
大清早
dà qīng zǎo
  1. 1 early in the morning
提早
tí zǎo
  1. 1 ahead of schedule
  2. 2 sooner than planned
  3. 3 to bring forward (to an earlier time)
抢先
qiǎng xiān
  1. 1 to rush (to do sth urgent)
  2. 2 to try to be the first
  3. 3 to forestall
早年
zǎo nián
  1. 1 early years
  2. 2 adolescence
早日
zǎo rì
  1. 1 soon
  2. 2 shortly
  3. 3 on a day quite soon
  4. 4 promptly
早晚
zǎo wǎn
  1. 1 morning and evening
  2. 2 sooner or later
早晨
zǎo chén
  1. 1 early morning
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
早班
zǎo bān
  1. 1 early shift
  2. 2 morning work shift
早饭
zǎo fàn
  1. 1 breakfast
  2. 2 CL:份[fèn],頓|顿[dùn],次[cì],餐[cān]

Idioms (20)

先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
xiān zhǎn hòu zòu
  1. 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
xiān fā zhì rén
  1. 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
  2. 2 to anticipate
  3. 3 preemptive
先睹为快
xiān dǔ wéi kuài
  1. 1 joy of first experience (idiom)
  2. 2 the pleasure of reading sth for the first time
先礼后兵
xiān lǐ hòu bīng
  1. 1 peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
  2. 2 jaw-jaw is better than war-war
兵马未动，粮草先行
bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng
  1. 1 before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
  2. 2 an army marches on its stomach
工欲善其事，必先利其器
gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
捷足先登
jié zú xiān dēng
  1. 1 the quick-footed climb up first (idiom)
  2. 2 the early bird catches the worm
  3. 3 first come, first served
敢为人先
gǎn wéi rén xiān
  1. 1 to dare to be first
  2. 2 to pioneer (idiom)
早出晚归
zǎo chū wǎn guī
  1. 1 to leave early and return late (idiom)
早动手，早收获
zǎo dòng shǒu , zǎo shōu huò
  1. 1 The sooner you set to work, the sooner you'll reap the rewards. (idiom)
早知今日何必当初
zǎo zhī jīn rì hé bì dāng chū
  1. 1 if I (you, she, he...) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he...) would not have acted thus (idiom)
  2. 2 to regret vainly one's past behavior
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
  1. 1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
欲善其事，必先利其器
yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
溘先朝露
kè xiān zhāo lù
  1. 1 the morning dew will swiftly dissipate (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
争先恐后
zhēng xiān kǒng hòu
  1. 1 striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another
百善孝为先
bǎi shàn xiào wéi xiān
  1. 1 of all virtues filial piety is most important (idiom)
笨鸟先飞
bèn niǎo xiān fēi
  1. 1 lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
闻风先遁
wén fēng xiān dùn
  1. 1 to flee at hearing the news (idiom)
英年早逝
yīng nián zǎo shì
  1. 1 to die an untimely death (idiom)
  2. 2 to be cut off in one's prime

Sample Sentences