📖 Meaning
A principle of priority based on order of arrival — whoever arrives first should be served or attended to first. It embodies the basic social norm of queuing and respecting the sequence in which people show up.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in the second act of the Ming dynasty anonymous zaju play 《南牢记》 (Southern Prison Record). The line reads: 'There is also a first-come-later-arrive order, yet instead they leave me with no resolution.' The play uses it to lament how even the most basic principle of precedence was being ignored, leaving the speaker without recourse. Over time, the phrase entered common parlance as a straightforward rule of social queue etiquette.
💡 Example Usage
排队买票要讲究先来后到。
When lining up to buy tickets, you should respect the order of arrival.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 先来后到
- Pinyin: xiān lái hòu dào
- Literal Translation: first come, later arrive
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4