先に

• 読み: さきに
• ローマ字: sakini
• 漢字の分解: 先 (saki) — ahead, before, previous
• 発音: /sa.ki.ni/

意味

Previously; before; earlier; first. Indicates temporal or sequential priority.

An adverb with two main uses: (1) 'earlier/before' referring to something that happened previously (先に述べた — mentioned earlier), and (2) 'first/ahead' indicating doing something before others or before something else (先に行って — go ahead first). Extremely common in both spoken and written Japanese. Context determines whether it means 'previously' or 'first.' More versatile than まず (first) and less formal than 事前に (in advance).

例文

1. 先に言ってくれれば準備できたのに。
2. お先に失礼します。
3. 先に述べたように計画を進めていく。

使い方ガイド

場面: daily life, work, conversation, writing

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From 先 (saki, ahead/before/tip) + the particle に (ni, at/to). 先 is one of the most fundamental directional and temporal words in Japanese, originally referring to the tip or point of something, then extending to mean 'ahead' in both space and time.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal