Sequencing with "xian" and "zai"

The word 再 (zài) actually has a lot of uses, beyond just "again." "先..., 再..." (xiān..., zài...) is a pattern used for sequencing events, much like "First..., then..." in English.

General Usage of 先……再……

In the pattern below, 再 has a meaning of "then" or "and then."

Structure

先 + [Event 1] + 再 + [Event 2]

Examples

• 我 会 先 洗 手，再 吃 晚饭。
• 她 要 先 吃 早饭，再 去 学校。
• 他 的 朋友 都 先 看 电影，再 去 酒吧。

Using 再说

You may have learned that "再说" can mean "in addition." Well, this usage of 再 is a more literal combination of 再 + 说, fitting into the 先……再…… pattern.

So in this usage, 再说 doesn't really mean "in addition." Rather, it most literally means "and then we'll talk." In other words, "let's just do this now," and then after we see the result, we can talk some more about next steps. There's kind of a "let's see how this goes first" feeling to the expression.

Structure

Note that in the pattern below, the sentence normally ends with 再说.

先 + [Event 1] + 再说

Examples

• 先 吃饭 再说 。
• 先 做 完 这个 再说 。
• 我 先 上 个 厕所 再说 。
• 我们 先 休息 一下 再说 。
• 你们 先 讨论 一下 再说 。

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 258-9) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 19-20) →buy