xiān​shì

at first

  • created sense approved 先是 · xiān​shì · at first — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    先是

    xiān​shì

    at first

    Used to describe a situation or action that happened first, often followed by words like [[后来|後來|hou4 lai2]] or [[然后|然後|ran2 hou4]] in the next part of the sentence

    先 (literal) → 先 · xiān · first 是 (literal) → 是 · shì · to be

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 先是 · xiān​shì · before this — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    先是

    xiān​shì

    before this

    (literary) At an earlier time; previously. Often used at the beginning of a sentence when tracing back to past events.

    先 (literal) → 先 · xiān · first 是 (literal) → 是 · shì · this

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 先是 · xiān​shì · former — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    先是

    xiān​shì

    former

    Former; original; initial

    先 (literal) → 先 · xiān · first 是 (literal) → 是 · shì · to be

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense