争先 (zhēng xiān) — to vie to be the first, to compete to get ahead

Definition

A more formal/literary verb meaning to vie to be first or take the lead — stronger and more rhetorical than everyday '抢着' or '赶着' to do something.

verb

to vie to be the firstto compete to get ahead

争先，。
Dà jiā dōu xiǎng zhēng xiān, shuí yě bú ràng shuí.
Everyone wants to be first, and nobody gives way.
，。
Tā zài sài pǎo zhōng zhēng le yí cì xiān, dé le dì yī míng.
He vied to be first in the race and got first place.
争先，。
Xiǎo hái zi zǒng ài zhēng xiān, zuò shén me dōu yào dì yī gè.
Children always love to be first; they want to be the first in everything.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

争zhēngstrive for

先xiānfirst place

争 (strive for) takes 先 (first place) as its goal, meaning to compete to get ahead.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爭; 争 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爭 shows two hands on a plowshare; the simplified 争 is a later abbreviation, so this picture belongs to 爭, not 争.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.