先 — ahead / previous

Grade 1せん, さき

Radical ⼉ · radical 10 The building block this kanji is filed under

先 (readings: せん, さき; Japanese kanji) means “ahead / previous”. It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 先生 (teacher).

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What does 先 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	先
Meaning	ahead / previous
Readings	せん, さき
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	先生 (teacher)

How to read 先

先 is read せん or さき depending on the word.

Words with 先

先月せんげつtháng trước
先生せんせいthầy cô
先祖せんぞtổ tiên
指先ゆびさきđầu ngón tay
先輩tiền bối
軒先đầu hiên nhà
宛先nơi gửi đến / địa chỉ nhận

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Updated: 2026-08-09