JLPT N1 · Noun

先 (sen)

先 (せん, sen) is a Japanese noun meaning “former; previous”. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists.

Reading: せん
Romaji: sen
Word class: Noun
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

former; previous; old · noun taking の, noun
first move (in go, shogi, etc.); opening move · noun

Example sentences

その少年は先週末、野球のボールで窓ガラスを割った。

The boy broke the window with a baseball last weekend.

Tatoeba #209061

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Kanji in 先

before, ahead, previousセン・さき・ま.ず · 6 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 先.

先月せんげつlast month先週せんしゅうlast week先生せんせいteacher先輩せんぱいsenior (at school, work, etc.)先日せんじつthe other day先行せんこうgoing ahead先程さきほどa short while ago先祖せんぞancestor先端せんたんpointed end先頭せんとうhead (of a line, group, etc.)祖先そせんancestorお先におさきにbefore真っ先まっさきthe head先々月せんせんげつmonth before last

Source: JMdict entry 1387220 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.