HSK 6 Connectors & compound sentences
首先 … 其次 … 最后 …
First… second… lastly… (首先…其次…最后…)
Structure 首先 + point 1,其次 + point 2,(再次/此外…),最后 + final point
首先…其次…最后… (shǒuxiān… qícì… zuìhòu…) is the enumerative sequence of the essay and the argumentative speech: it orders the points of a line of reasoning "first / second / lastly". 首先明确目标,其次制订计划,最后付诸行动 = "first set the goal, then draw up the plan, and lastly put it into action". Each link may run to several sentences; for longer series, 再次 (zàicì) or 此外 (cǐwài) is inserted between 其次 and 最后. Although 首先 and 其次 occur on their own earlier, what is distinctively HSK 6 here is wielding the full series as the rhetorical scaffolding of a paragraph.
Examples
- 首先明确目标,其次制订计划,最后付诸行动。
First clarify the goal, second draw up the plan, and lastly put it into action.
- 首先它成本低,其次操作简单,最后效果显著。
First, it's low-cost; second, it's simple to operate; lastly, its results are striking.
- 分析问题,首先看现象,其次究原因,最后提对策。
To analyze a problem, first observe the phenomenon, then probe the cause, and lastly propose measures.
Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.