How is 祖先 pronounced?

祖先 is pronounced “zǔ xiān” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 祖先?

祖先 belongs to HSK 6 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

HSK 6

祖先

zǔ xiān

祖先 (zǔ xiān) means “ancestors; forebears; (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved”. It is an HSK 6 Chinese word in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How to write 祖先

Practice each character:

先

More HSK 6 vocabulary

HSK 6 →

挨āiin order; in sequence; close to; adjacent to 癌症ái zhèngcancer 爱不释手ài bù shì shǒu(idiom) to like sth so much that one is reluctant to put it down; to find sth utterly irresistible 爱戴ài dàito love and respect; love and respect 暧昧ài mèivague; ambiguous; equivocal 安宁an níngsee 安寧區|安宁区[An1 ning2 Qu1]; see 安寧市|安宁市[An1 ning2 Shi4]安详ān xiángserene 安置ān zhìto find a place for; to help settle down; to arrange for; to get into bed; placement 按摩àn mómassage; to massage 案件àn jiàncase; instance; CL:宗[zong1],樁|桩[zhuang1],起[qi3]案例àn lìcase (of fraud, hepatitis, international cooperation etc); instance; example 暗示àn shìto hint; to suggest; hint; suggestion

Frequently asked questions

What does 祖先 mean?: 祖先 (zǔ xiān) means “ancestors; forebears; (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved”. It is an HSK 6 word.
How is 祖先 pronounced?: 祖先 is pronounced “zǔ xiān” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 祖先?: 祖先 belongs to HSK 6 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Updated: 2026-07-06