Recognize 先 in everyday Japanese and learn its readings together with complete words.

The idea

先 has 6 strokes. Follow the order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 先（さき）, “ahead; beyond”, with 先週（せんしゅう）, “last week”. A character may be read differently from word to word; learn each word as a unit.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
先さきahead; beyond
先週せんしゅうlast week
先生せんせいteacher
先月せんげつlast month
先にさきにfirst; ahead of someone

Examples

  • 私わたしは先週せんしゅう、大阪おおさかに行いきました。I went to Osaka last week.
  • 田中たなかさんは先生せんせいです。Tanaka is a teacher.
  • 先週せんしゅう、新あたらしい本ほんを買かいました。Last week I bought a new book.
  • どうぞ、先さきに行いってください。Please go ahead of me.
  • 先月せんげつ、友達ともだちに会あいました。I met a friend last month.
  • この道みちの先さきに駅えきがあります。The station is further along this road.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

先 can refer to a place ahead as well as an earlier time, as in 先週. Compare the shape of 先 with 生; notice how their components differ.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 先 (ahead; beyond) in hiragana.

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    さき

    先 is read さき and means “ahead; beyond”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

  2. Write the reading of 先週 (last week) in hiragana.

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    せんしゅう

    先週 is read せんしゅう and means “last week”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿生（せんせい）.

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    先

    先 completes 先生（せんせい）, meaning “teacher”.

  4. Which word means “teacher”? Write the whole word using kanji: 先生 or 先週.

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    先生

    先生 is read せんせい and means “teacher”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word. 先週 instead means “last week”.

Use it today

Write 先 three times following the linked stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 先 and 先週 aloud, and then check their readings and meanings.