Chinese word dictionary

先例

xiānlì · precedent

Practice word

Word information

Simplified先例

Traditional先例

Pinyinxiānlì

Part of speech名

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

先xiān

first, former, previous

例lì

precedent, example, case; regulation

How to learn 先例

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

先生xiānsheng

teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.); husband; (dialect) doctor; CL:位[wei4]

先xiān

beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

举例jǔlì

to give an example

例如lìrú

for example; for instance; such as

例子lìzi

case; (for) instance; example; CL:個|个[ge4]

首先shǒuxiān

first (of all); in the first place