Translation guide
How to express that one thing comes before another in importance, order, or time.
Expressing that something is more important and should be dealt with first.
The most common and versatile word for 'priority' or 'precedence'. Used in many contexts from daily life to formal settings.
Safety takes top priority.
This task takes precedence over everything else.
Refers to the order of priority, often used when ranking multiple items.
Please decide the order of priority for the tasks.
The verb form meaning 'to prioritize' or 'to give precedence'.
We prioritize urgent matters.
Indicating that one thing comes before another in a sequence, list, or procedure.
Means 'preceding' or 'going before'. Often used in formal or technical contexts like 'preceding research' or 'prior event'.
Please refer to the preceding research.
A verb meaning 'to come before' or 'to precede'. Slightly formal/literary.
A formal pattern meaning 'prior to' or 'before'. Used in announcements and written instructions.
Expressing a right of way, seniority, or established order in formal systems.
A legal term meaning 'lien' or 'priority right'. Very specific to law.
This claim has a priority right.
Means 'priority right' or 'preferential right'. Used in contexts like patent applications or traffic.
Refers to a senior person (in school, work, etc.). Implies precedence in experience and often informal authority.
Simply stating that something happened earlier.
優先 (priority) is about importance and order of handling, while 先行 (preceding) is about temporal or sequential order. Use 優先 for 'this takes precedence over that' in decision-making, and 先行 for 'this comes before that' in a timeline or list.
Many words with 先 (saki/sen) relate to 'before', but they are not interchangeable. 先に is a simple adverb, while 先立つ is formal and often part of set phrases. Using the wrong one can sound unnatural.
The future is uncertain. (Note: '先行き' means 'the future' or 'outlook', derived from '先行'.)
出発に先立って、注意事項を説明します。
Prior to departure, I will explain the precautions.
Prior to the meeting, we will distribute the materials.
Claim the priority right of the patent.
先輩の意見を尊重する。
Respect the opinion of one's senior.
Go on ahead.
You should have said so earlier.