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先行

Mandarin · pinyin xiān xíng

to start off before the others; to precede
to proceed in advance

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Characters in this entry

先: xiān · first, former, previous
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · xian1 xing2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sin1 hang4

Cantonese word readings for 先行. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to advance; to move forward
to go ahead of the rest; to start off before the others

adj

advance; ahead of the rest

adv

(literary) before; previously
in advance; beforehand

noun

(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 先行官 (xiānxíngguān, “commander of an advance unit”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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