Chinese word

先后

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiān hòu

Meaning

  • adverbone after another

Example

客人先后来了好几位。kè rén xiān hòu lái le háo jǐ wèi

Several guests arrived one after another.

Illustration for 先后 (one after another)

More examples

比赛中，选手们先后完成了所有项目。bǐ sài zhōng xuán shǒu men xiān hòu wán chéng le suó yǒu xiàng mù

During the competition, the contestants completed all the events one after another.

Core concept

A procession unfolds along a timeline, with each event taking its place after the preceding one.

Common phrases

  • 先后到达xiān hòu dào dá

    arrive one after another

  • 先后出现xiān hòu chū xiàn

    appear one after another

Similar words

依次yī cì: Shows people or actions proceeding in a set order.
陆续lù xù: Shows people or events appearing one after another at intervals.
相继xiāng jì: Shows several events happening one after another in succession.
接连jiē lián: Shows repeated events happening one after another without a break.

Definition in Chinese

表示先后顺序，强调一项接着一项发生或出现，常用于描述动作或事件的接连。biǎo shì xiān hòu shùn xù qiáng diào yí xiàng jiē zhe yí xiàng fā shēng huò chū xiàn cháng yòng yú miáo shù dòng zuò huò shì jiàn de jiē lián

Word origin

先后 (xiānhòu, "before and after") is formed from 先 (xiān, "first") + 后 (hòu, "later"), so the compound naturally marks temporal sequence.

Usage tips

  • For a group arriving or acting at different moments, this word helps show that the events happen in sequence, not all at once.

Opposites

Related words

  • 先后顺序xiān hòu shùn xùorder of precedencenoun

Word lists with this word