在先

zàixiān
  1. to come first
  2. previous
  3. prior
  4. beforehand
  5. first
  6. formerly

CEDICT

  1. beforehand; in advance
  2. formerly; before; in the past
  3. to be in advance; to come first

Wiktionary

  1. 預先。
  2. 以前。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 在 zài
  1. to exist; to be alive
  2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at
  3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
2 先 xiān
  1. beforehand; first; earlier
  2. at first; originally
  3. for the time being; for now
  4. (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

Containing this entry

有約在先 yǒuyuēzàixiān to have a prior engagement
有言在先 yǒuyánzàixiān

Related entries

上任 shàngrèn
  1. to take office
  2. previous (incumbent)
  3. predecessor
世界上任何山峰都达不到珠穆朗瑪峰的高度。

No other mountain in the world is as tall as Mt. Everest.

Source: Tatoeba

上個 shàngge
  1. first (of two parts)
  2. last (week etc)
  3. previous
  4. the above
他是上个学期来的吗？

Did he get here last term?

Source: Tatoeba

以前 yǐqián
  1. before
  2. formerly
  3. previous
  4. ago
以前比較好。

It was better in the old days.

Source: Tatoeba

過往 guòwǎng
  1. to come and go
  2. to have friendly relations with
  3. in the past
  4. previous
那儿曾经很宁静，只不过偶尔会有一些过往车辆的声音。

It was once very peaceful there, but now you'll sometimes hear the sound of passing vehicles.

Source: Tatoeba

往 wǎng
  1. to go (in a direction)
  2. to
  3. towards
  4. (of a train) bound for
  5. past
  6. previous
我往右拐了。

I turned right.

Source: Tatoeba

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