上 shàng (bound form) up / upper / above / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on / above syn 行 háng row / line / commercial firm / line of business / profession / to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age) / (in data tables) row / (Tw) column syn 前 qián front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly syn 正 zhēng first month of the lunar year syn 手 shǒu hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] syn 头 頭 tóu head / hair style / the top / end / beginning or end / a stub / remnant / chief / boss / side / aspect / first / leading / classifier for pigs or livestock / CL:個|个[ge4] syn 先 xiān beforehand / first / earlier / at first / originally / for the time being / for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) syn 提 tí to carry (hanging down from the hand) / to lift / to put forward / to mention / to raise (an issue) / upwards character stroke / lifting brush stroke (in painting) / scoop for measuring liquid syn 交 jiāo to hand over / to deliver / to pay (money) / to turn over / to make friends / (of lines) to intersect / variant of 跤[jiao1] syn 元 yuán currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan) / (bound form) first / original / primary / (bound form) basic / fundamental / (bound form) constituent / part / (prefix) meta- / (math.) argument / variable / era (of a reign) / (Tw) (geology) eon syn 第一 dì yī first / number one / primary syn 原来 原來 yuán lái original / former / originally / formerly / at first / so, actually, as it turns out syn 首先 shǒu xiān first (of all) / in the first place syn 一边 一邊 yī biān one side / either side / on the one hand / on the other hand / doing while syn 本来 本來 běn lái original / originally / at first / it goes without saying / of course syn 帮忙 幫忙 bāng máng to help / to lend a hand / to do a favor / to do a good turn syn 最初 zuì chū first / primary / initial / original / at first / initially / originally syn 原始 yuán shǐ first / original / primitive / original (document etc) syn 沙发 沙發 shā fā sofa (loanword) / CL:條|条[tiao2],張|张[zhang1] / (Internet slang) the first reply or replier to a forum post 流传 流傳 liú chuán to spread / to circulate / to hand down syn 第一时间 第一時間 dì yī shí jiān in the first moments (of sth happening) / immediately (after an event) / first thing 目睹 mù dǔ to witness / to see at first hand / to see with one's own eyes syn 起初 qǐ chū originally / at first / at the outset syn 手感 shǒu gǎn the feel (of sth touched with the hand) / (textiles) handle 传给 傳給 chuán gěi to pass on to / to transfer to / to hand on to / (in football etc) to pass to 遗留 遺留 yí liú to leave behind / to hand down syn 反之 fǎn zhī on the other hand... / conversely... syn 正月 zhēng yuè first month of the lunar year syn 第一眼 dì yī yǎn at first glance / at first sight 当头 當頭 dāng tóu coming right into one's face / imminent / to put first syn 在先 zài xiān to come first / previous / prior / beforehand / first / formerly syn 抱拳 bào quán to cup one's fist in the other hand (as a sign of respect) 元宵节 元宵節 yuán xiāo jié Lantern Festival, the final event of the Spring Festival 春節|春节, on 15th of first month of the lunar calendar syn 争先恐后 爭先恐後 zhēng xiān kǒng hòu striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom) / outdoing one another syn 着手 著手 zhuó shǒu to put one's hand to it / to start out on a task / to set out syn 摩挲 mā sa (coll.) to remove (crinkles, dirt) with the palm of the hand / Taiwan pr. [mo2suo1] syn 摩挲 mó sā to smooth out (with one's hand) syn 邮品 郵品 yóu pǐn items issued by a postal service and collected by philatelists (stamps, postcards, first day covers etc) 底牌 dǐ pái cards in one's hand / (fig.) undisclosed strength or information / hidden trump syn 手摇 手搖 shǒu yáo hand-cranked syn 见面礼 見面禮 jiàn miàn lǐ gift given to sb when meeting them for the first time 抓手 zhuā shǒu starting point / mechanical hand / gripper syn 空前绝后 空前絕後 kōng qián jué hòu unprecedented and never to be duplicated / the first and the last / unmatched / unique syn 左首 zuǒ shǒu left-hand side syn 抢答 搶答 qiǎng dá to compete to be the first to answer a question (as on a quiz show) 右首 yòu shǒu right-hand side syn 劈手 pī shǒu with a lightning move of the hand syn 发妻 髮妻 fà qī first wife syn 呈给 呈給 chéng gěi to give / to hand 白刃战 白刃戰 bái rèn zhàn hand-to-hand fighting 首 shǒu head / chief / first (occasion, thing etc) / classifier for poems, songs etc syn 手不释卷 手不釋卷 shǒu bù shì juàn lit. always with a book in hand (idiom) / fig. (of a student or scholar) diligent and hardworking syn 抓周 zhuā zhōu custom of placing a variety of articles (writing brush, abacus etc) before an infant on its first birthday to see which one he or she picks up (The article chosen is supposed to be an indication of the child's inclinations, future career etc.) 手搭凉棚 手搭涼棚 shǒu dā liáng péng to shade one's eyes with one's hand 甲 jiǎ first of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1] / (used for an unspecified person or thing) / first (in a list, as a party to a contract etc) / letter "A" or roman "I" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc / armor plating / shell or carapace / (of the fingers or toes) nail / bladed leather or metal armor (old) / ranking system used in the Imperial examinations (old) / civil administration unit in the baojia 保甲[bao3 jia3] system (old) / ancient Chinese compass point: 75° syn 摸 mō to feel with the hand / to touch / to stroke / to grope / to steal / to abstract syn 递 遞 dì to hand over / to pass on / to deliver / (bound form) progressively / in the proper order syn 扶 fú to support with the hand / to help sb up / to support oneself by holding onto something / to help syn 拨 撥 bō to push aside with the hand, foot, a stick etc / to dial / to allocate / to set aside (money) / to poke (the fire) / to pluck (a string instrument) / to turn round / classifier: group, batch syn 首页 首頁 shǒu yè home page (of a website) / title page / front page / first page / fig. beginning / cover letter 一次 yī cì first / first time / once / (math.) linear (of degree one) 身上 shēn shang on the body / at hand / among syn 一声 一聲 yī shēng first tone in Mandarin (high, level tone) 身边 身邊 shēn biān at one's side / on hand 新手 xīn shǒu new hand / novice / raw recruit syn 高手 gāo shǒu expert / past master / dab hand syn 首次 shǒu cì first / first time / for the first time syn 二手 èr shǒu indirectly acquired / second-hand (information, equipment etc) / assistant 一级 一級 yī jí first class / category A 手里 手裡 shǒu lǐ in hand / (a situation is) in sb's hands 先后 先後 xiān hòu early or late / first and last / priority / in succession / one after another syn 交给 交給 jiāo gěi to give / to deliver / to hand over syn 一方面 yī fāng miàn on the one hand syn 另一方面 lìng yī fāng miàn on the other hand / another aspect syn 右手 yòu shǒu right hand / right-hand side syn 伸手 shēn shǒu to reach out with one's hand / to hold out a hand / (fig.) to beg / to get involved / to meddle syn 顶级 頂級 dǐng jí top-notch / first-rate syn 左手 zuǒ shǒu left hand / left-hand side syn 手下 shǒu xià under one's control or administration / subordinates / (money etc) on hand / sb's financial means / when taking action syn 入学 入學 rù xué to enter a school or college / to go to school for the first time as a child 发起 發起 fā qǐ to originate / to initiate / to launch (an attack, an initiative etc) / to start / to propose sth (for the first time) syn 二手房 èr shǒu fáng second-hand house / house acquired indirectly through a middle-man 优良 優良 yōu liáng fine / good / first-rate syn 上半年 shàng bàn nián first half (of a year) 首届 首屆 shǒu jiè first session (of a conference etc) syn 首选 首選 shǒu xuǎn first choice / premium / to come first in the imperial examinations 一月 yī yuè January / first month (of the lunar year) syn 携手 攜手 xié shǒu hand in hand / to join hands / to collaborate syn 下手 xià shǒu to start / to put one's hand to / to set about / the seat to the right of the main guest syn 首发 首發 shǒu fā first issue / first public showing 挥手 揮手 huī shǒu to wave (one's hand) syn 处女 處女 chǔ nǚ virgin / maiden / maiden (voyage etc) / virgin (land) / (a novelist's) first (work) syn 第一步 dì yī bù step one / first step 见识 見識 jiàn shi to gain first-hand knowledge of sth / to experience for oneself / knowledge / experience / insight syn 直辖市 直轄市 zhí xiá shì municipality, namely: Beijing 北京, Tianjin 天津, Shanghai 上海 and Chongqing 重慶|重庆, the first level administrative subdivision / province level city / also called directly governed city 初恋 初戀 chū liàn first love 一号 一號 yī hào first day of the month / toilet / (slang) top (in a homosexual relationship) 递给 遞給 dì gěi to hand it (i.e. the aforementioned item) to (sb) syn 