真っ先
Meanings
1
the very front; the head; the foremost
Refers to the leading position in a line, order, or sequence; often used in phrases like 真っ先に (first of all, before anyone else).
He is always the first to raise his hand.
I was standing at the very front of the line.
Usage patterns
- 真っ先に思いつくto be the first thing that comes to mind
When I hear about him, that incident is the first thing that comes to mind.
- 真っ先に駆けつけるto be the first to rush to the scene
The firefighters were the first to rush to the scene of the fire.
- 真っ先に手を挙げるto be the first to raise one's hand (volunteer)
When the teacher asked a question, she was the first to raise her hand.
- 〈人〉の名前が真っ先に挙がるfor someone's name to be the first mentioned (as a candidate)
His name was the first to come up as a successor.