先行

• Reading: せんこう
• Romaji: senkou
• Kanji breakdown: 先 (ahead, prior) + 行 (go, proceed) → going ahead; advance/priority access
• Pronunciation: /seɴ.ko.u/

Meaning

Priority pre-sale; an advance ticket sales period, typically reserved for fan club members or specific groups before general sale.

先行 (often shortened from 先行販売 or 先行予約) is a crucial concept in Japanese ticket-buying culture. Multiple tiers exist: FC先行 (fan club pre-sale), 最速先行 (fastest/earliest pre-sale), プレイガイド先行 (ticket platform pre-sale), and 一般発売 (general sale). Getting through 先行 is the best chance at securing tickets for popular events, as general sale often sells out instantly. Fans strategically plan which 先行 to enter based on their odds.

Examples

1. FC先行で申し込んだけど当たるかドキドキする。 I applied through the fan club pre-sale but I'm so nervous about whether I'll get picked.
2. 先行で外れたら一般発売にかけるしかない。 If I don't get through the pre-sale, my only shot is general sale.
3. 最速先行の受付が始まったから急いで申し込んだ。 The earliest pre-sale just opened so I rushed to apply.

Usage Guide

Context: ticket purchasing, fan communities, social media

Tone: strategic, anxious

Do Say

• 先行いつから始まるか知ってる？ (Do you know when the pre-sale starts?)
• FC先行で当選したから行ける！ (I won the fan club pre-sale lottery, so I can go!)

Don't Say

• 一般発売を「先行」とは呼ばない — 先行 specifically means advance/priority sale before general release

Common Mistakes

• Not understanding the tiered system — FC先行, 最速先行, プレイガイド先行, and 一般発売 are all different sales periods with different odds

Origin & History

From 先行 (going ahead/advance). A standard Japanese word applied to ticket sales culture. The elaborate pre-sale system is a distinctive feature of Japanese entertainment, where fan club membership provides priority access.

Cultural Context

Era: Established ticket sales practice, ongoing

Generation: All ages, concert-goers

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. The multi-layered pre-sale system is a distinctive feature of Japanese live entertainment.