先
- first, foremost;
- before, earlier;
Etymology
It is a semantic compound character, formed by combining 之 ("to go"), and 儿 ("person" or "legs of a person").
The meaning "first" comes from the idea of a person stepping ahead of others—i.e., moving forward before others.
先
먼저
선
meonjeo
seon
Kangxi radical:10, 儿 + 4
Strokes:6
Unicode:U+5148
Cangjie input:
- 竹土竹山 (HGHU)
Composition:
- ⿱ 𠂒 儿