How to Say ‘Do (it) first’ in Japanese
先にして
saki ni shi te
[sah-kee nee shee teh]
💬 Usage Tip: [先にして] is a request meaning “do it first / put it first.” Often: [先にしてもいい？] (“Can I do it first?”).
🇯🇵 In Japan: When rearranging order, Japanese may phrase it as a suggestion rather than command to stay polite and cooperative.
Phrase Breakdown
先
saki
[sah-kee]
ahead; first; earlier (kanji for さき)
先 read as さき (saki) means “first/before.” In 先にして it implies “make it first / do it first.”
それを先にして、あとで説明する。
Do that first, then I’ll explain later.
に
ni
[nee]
to; at; in (particle)
に in 先に marks the order/sequence point: “first.”
Aを先にして。
Do A first.
し
shi
[shee]
do; make (stem of する)
し is the stem of する (“to do”). It combines with て to form the request form して.
先にしてほしい。
I want you to do it first.
て
te
[teh]
te-form connector / request marker
て attaches to verbs to connect actions or make requests (して = “do it”).
これを先にして。
Do this first.
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