| 事 |
shì xiān | in advance / before the event / beforehand / prior |
| 事 |
shì | matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件,桩,回 |
| 先 |
xiān | beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |