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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shǒu先xiān明míng确què目mù标biāo,其qí次cì制zhì订dìng计jì划huà,最zuì后hòu付fù诸zhū行xíng动dòng。

    First clarify the goal, second draw up the plan, and lastly put it into action.

  • 首shǒu先xiān它tā成chéng本běn低dī,其qí次cì操cāo作zuò简jiǎn单dān,最zuì后hòu效xiào果guǒ显xiǎn著zhù。

    First, it's low-cost; second, it's simple to operate; lastly, its results are striking.

  • 分fēn析xī问wèn题tí,首shǒu先xiān看kàn现xiàn象xiàng,其qí次cì究jiū原yuán因yīn,最zuì后hòu提tí对duì策cè。

    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.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.

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