争先恐后 meaning and pronunciation

争先恐后
Simplified word
爭先恐後
Traditional word

争先恐后 English definition

zhēng xiān kǒng hòu
  • striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom)
  • outdoing one another

HSK level

Characters

  • 争 (zhēng): to strive for; to vie for; to argue or debate; deficient or lacking (dialect); how or what (literary);
  • 先 (xiān): first; early; prior; former; in advance
  • 恐 (kǒng): afraid; frightened; to fear;
  • 后 (hòu): back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; empress; queen;