争先恐后

• Pinyin: zhēng xiān kǒng hòu
• Hanzi breakdown: 争 = contend; 先 = 𠂉 + 儿 (first/ahead); 恐 = 巩 + 心 (fear); 后 = behind/after

Meaning

To vie with each other to be first; to scramble. Everyone rushing forward, each afraid of falling behind the others.

A vivid four-character idiom depicting competitive eagerness. Can be positive (enthusiastic participation) or negative (chaotic scrambling). Common in descriptions of crowds, sales, or opportunities.

Examples

1. 顾客们争先恐后地涌入商场，抢购打折商品。 Customers rushed into the mall, scrambling to grab discounted items.
2. 学生们争先恐后地举手回答老师的问题。 The students all shot their hands up, eager to answer the teacher’s question.
3. 新政策一出台，各企业争先恐后地申请优惠资格。 As soon as the new policy was announced, companies rushed to apply for preferential eligibility.

Usage Guide

Context: crowds, competition, events

Tone: vivid

Do Say

• 消息公布后，投资者争先恐后地抢购该公司股票。(After the news was announced, investors scrambled to buy the company's stock.)
• 孩子们争先恐后地冲向游乐场，欢笑声此起彼伏。(The children scrambled towards the playground, their laughter rising and falling.)

Don't Say

• 他一个人争先恐后 — the idiom implies competition among multiple people; for individual urgency, use 迫不及待 (can't wait) or 急切

Origin & History

争先 (vie to be first) + 恐后 (fear being behind) — competing to lead, fearing to lag

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal