先进
xiānjìn · HSK 3
advance
🚀 先 = first/ahead + 进 = enter/advance → 'ahead-advancing' = cutting-edge
先 means 'first' or 'ahead' (the same 先 as 先生 'mister', literally 'born-first'). 进 means 'to enter' or 'advance'. Together: moving ahead of others — advanced, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art.
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.
进 — walk radical 辶 + well 井
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of movement, while 井 (jǐng, 'well') supplied the sound. The traditional form 進 used 隹 (short-tailed bird) suggesting forward flight; the simplified 进 swapped 隹 for the simpler phonetic 井. The core meaning 'to advance, enter' has stayed stable.