优先
yōuxiān · HSK 5
priority
⭐ 优 = excellent + 先 = first; the excellent ones go first
优 means excellent or superior; 先 means first or ahead. Together they mean 'excellent-first' — giving precedence to what ranks highest. Common in 优先权 (priority rights) and 优先级 (priority level).
优 — person radical 亻 + worry 憂
优 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the person radical 亻 indicates a human, while 憂 (worry, also providing the sound) originally depicted an actor or performer who moved others emotionally. From 'actor' it extended to 'graceful, refined,' and in modern Chinese it commonly means 'excellent' or 'superior.'
先 — 𠂉 (person variant) on top + 儿 (legs) below
先 originally depicted a person with a foot or step shown above the legs 儿, suggesting someone walking ahead. From this image of going before others came the meanings 'first,' 'earlier,' and 'ahead.' The modern shape preserves the 'legs' radical underneath.