qǐng xiān zài dēngjìdān shàng xiě míngzi.

Please write your name on the registration form first.

Breakdown of qǐng xiān zài dēngjìdān shàng xiě míngzi.

• 名字míngzi: name
• 在zài: at
• 写xiě: to write
• 先xiān: first

Questions & Answers about qǐng xiān zài dēngjìdān shàng xiě míngzi.

Why is 请 at the beginning of the sentence?

请 is often used to make a request polite, similar to please in English.

In this sentence, 请先在登记单上写名字。 means something like Please write your name on the registration form first.

A few useful notes:

• 请 + verb is a very common polite pattern.
• It can sound like a direct instruction, but still polite.
• In spoken Chinese, the subject you is often omitted when it is obvious.

So the full idea is really:

• (你)请先在登记单上写名字。
• Please first write your name on the registration form.

What does 先 mean here, and where does it go in the sentence?

先 means first.

It tells you that this action should happen before some other action, even if that second action is not said explicitly.

In 请先在登记单上写名字。, 先 comes before the place phrase and the verb:

• 请 + 先 + 在登记单上 + 写名字

This is a very common position for 先:

• 请先坐。 — Please sit down first.
• 你先吃。 — You eat first.
• 我们先回家。 — Let’s go home first.

So here, 先 modifies the action 写名字.

Why is it 在登记单上? What does 上 mean?