| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| 先に | さきに | before, earlier than, ahead, beyond, away, previously, recently |
| 先月 | せんげつ | last month |
| 先進国 | せんしんこく | advanced (developed) country, advanced nations |
| 先生 | せんせい | teacher, master, doctor; with names of teachers, etc. as an honorific |
| 先発 | せんぱつ | forerunner, advance party, going on ahead; being in a (team sports) match or game from the start, starting |
| 優先 | ゆうせん | preference, priority, precedence |
| 先進 | せんしん | seniority, advance, leadership |
| 先頭 | せんとう | head, lead, vanguard, first |
| 先行 | せんこう | preceding, going first, leading, going ahead, taking priority |
| 先週 | せんしゅう | last week, the week before |