领先 meaning in English

lǐngxiān

to lead; to be in front

HSK 3Traditional 領先17 strokes

Meaning of 领先

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

lǐngxiān

to lead
to be in front

How to use 领先

领先 is common in sports, business and technology to say someone is ahead of others. It often appears with 在 or 比 structures, or with a score after it. Example: 我们队领先两分。(Wǒmen duì lǐngxiān liǎng fēn.) Our team is leading by two points.

领 (lǐng) means to lead, as in 领导 (lǐngdǎo), and 先 (xiān) means first or ahead, as in 首先 (shǒuxiān). Put them together and you lead by being first: 领先 is to be out in front.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 领 with 令 alone or mix it up with 岭 (lǐng, mountain ridge), which has 山 on the left instead of 页 on the right. Also, 领先 means being ahead in a position, so do not use it for leading a group of people. Use 带领 (dàilǐng) or 领导 (lǐngdǎo) for that.

领先 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

你nǐ领lǐng先xiān。

You're in the lead.

第dì 35 分fēn钟zhōng，汤tāng姆mǔ头tóu球qiú破pò门mén，帮bāng助zhù球qiú队duì取qǔ得de领lǐng先xiān。

Tom scored a header in the 35th minute, putting his team in front.

台tái湾wān是shì高gāo科kē技jì领lǐng先xiān国guó。

Taiwan leads in tech.

人rén生shēng是shì一yī次cì长zhǎng跑pǎo，暂zàn时shí的de落luò后hòu和hé领lǐng先xiān都dōu不bù算suàn什shén么me。

Life is like a marathon, where short-term gains and losses are not significant in and of themselves.

这zhè款kuǎn笔bǐ记jì型xíng电diàn脑nǎo价jià格gé亲qīn民mín，技jì术shù领lǐng先xiān。

The laptop provides cutting-edge technology at an affordable price.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

领 lǐng · neck · 11 strokes

先 xiān · beforehand · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 领先.

先生	xiānsheng	teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.)
首先	shǒuxiān	first of all; in the first place
领导	lǐngdǎo	lead; leading
带领	dàilǐng	to guide; to lead
先进	xiānjìn	sophisticated; advanced (technology etc); meritorious; exemplary (deeds etc)
本领	běnlǐng	skill; ability
事先	shìxiān	in advance; before the event
率先	shuàixiān	to take the lead; to show initiative
占领	zhànlǐng	to capture; to seize; to occupy by force
领带	lǐngdài	necktie
优先	yōuxiān	to have priority; to take precedence
先前	xiānqián	before; previously

Questions about 领先

What does 领先 mean?

领先 (lǐngxiān) means "to lead; to be in front".

How do you write 领先?

领先 is made of 2 characters: 领 (11 strokes), 先 (6 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 领先 an HSK word?

Yes. 领先 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 领先 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 领先 is written 領先.

How do I say who someone is ahead of with 领先?

You can put the person or group after 领先 directly, as in 他领先其他选手 (tā lǐngxiān qítā xuǎnshǒu), he is ahead of the other contestants. You can also use 领先于 in more formal writing.

What is the opposite of 领先?

A common opposite is 落后 (luòhòu), to fall behind or be behind. For example, 我们落后三分 (wǒmen luòhòu sān fēn) means we are behind by three points.