2 · Linking clauses
First, then: xiān … ránhòu
putting actions in order
Xiān marks the first step; ránhòu, zài, jiēzhe and yǐhòu bring in the next one.
先, “first”, is an adverb: it stands after the subject, right before the first verb. The next step is introduced by 然后, “then, after that”, which opens its clause: 我先洗手，然后吃饭, “I wash my hands first and then eat”. 然后 simply reports what came next, and it works for the past as well as the future.
再 is different. It is an adverb, after the subject, and it means “then, and only then”: the first thing has to be done before the second. 你先想好，再回答, “think it through first, and then answer”. Because it sets an order still to be followed, 再 is used for plans, instructions and suggestions — not for telling what already happened.
接着 means “next, straight after” and stresses that there was no break: 他喝了口水，接着说, “he took a sip of water and carried on talking”. For instructions with several steps, 首先 … 然后 … 最后 is the standard frame: first, then, finally.
“After” works the other way round from English. English puts “after” in front of the clause; Chinese puts 以后 (or the more formal 之后) at its end: 下课以后, literally “class ends after”, “after class”. The same is true of 以前, “before”.
The form
| first … then | 我先洗手，然后吃饭。 |
| first … and only then | 你先想好，再回答。 |
| next, without a break | 他喝了口水，接着说。 |
| after a clause | 下课以后，我们去打球。 |
| first, then, finally | 首先报名，然后交钱，最后拿票。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
先 is an adverb: it stands after the subject, right before the first verb.
我们先去超市，然后回家做饭。We’ll go to the supermarket first, then home to cook.
然后 opens the next clause and simply says what came next — in the past as well as the future.
昨天我先去了银行，然后去了邮局。Yesterday I went to the bank first and then to the post office.
再 stands after the subject and sets an order to keep: this first, and only then that. It is for things still to come.
你先把作业写完，再看电视。Finish your homework first, then you can watch TV.
以后 follows the clause it belongs to: “after we eat” is “we eat 以后”.
吃完饭以后，我们一起去散步吧。After we’ve eaten, let’s go for a walk together.
接着 means “straight after, carrying on”: the next thing follows without a break.
他休息了五分钟，接着又开始工作了。He rested for five minutes and then carried straight on working.
A closer look
“After” at the end of the clause
Time words in Chinese work like place words: 桌子上 is “table-on”, and 吃饭以后 is “eating-after”. The clause comes first and the word that relates it to the rest comes last — the opposite of English “after eating”. 以后, 之后 and the short 后 all follow this order, and so do 以前 and 之前.
A very common combination is 等 … 以后 … 再: “wait until … and then”. 等你回来以后，我们再吃饭, “we’ll eat once you are back” — the first event is something to wait for, and 再 keeps the second one in its place.
How to spot it
- 先
- 然后
- 再
- 接着
- 以后
- 首先
- 最后
Example sentences
早上我先跑步，然后洗澡吃早饭。In the morning I go for a run first, then have a shower and breakfast.
我们先看看菜单，再点菜。Let’s look at the menu first, then order.
她大学毕业以后去了上海工作。After graduating from university she went to work in Shanghai.
老师讲完语法，接着让我们做练习。When the teacher had gone through the grammar, she had us do the exercises straight away.
首先把水烧开，然后放面条，最后加盐。First bring the water to the boil, then put the noodles in, and finally add salt.
别着急，我们先吃点儿东西，再慢慢说。Don’t worry — let’s have something to eat first and then talk it through calmly.
7 more example sentences
你先往前走，然后在第二个路口往左拐。Go straight on first, then turn left at the second junction.
我想先工作两年，再去读研究生。I want to work for two years first and then do a master’s degree.
他回到家以后马上给妈妈打了个电话。After he got home, he phoned his mother straight away.
我们在北京玩了三天，接着去了天津。We spent three days in Beijing and went straight on to Tianjin.
请大家先排队，然后按顺序上车。Would everyone please queue first and then get on in turn.
等雨停了以后，我们再走。We’ll leave once the rain has stopped.
我先说一下今天的安排，然后大家可以提问题。I’ll go over today’s plan first, and then you can ask questions.
Worth knowing (1)
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“Then” meaning “in that case”
English “then” can also mean “in that case”, reacting to what someone has just said. That is neither 然后 nor 再 but 那 or 那么 at the start of the sentence.
那我们明天见吧。Then let’s meet tomorrow.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “then” covers both, so learners reach for 再. But 再 points forward to something still to be done; in an account of what happened, the next step is 然后.
Xiān for the first step; ránhòu for what came next; zài for what must wait its turn.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.