qǐng xiān qǔhào.

first

Breakdown of qǐng xiān qǔhào.

• 请qǐng: to ask (politely)
• 取号qǔhào: to get a queue number

Questions & Answers about qǐng xiān qǔhào.

What does 请 mean here? Is it just please?

Yes. In this sentence, 请 is the polite marker please.

It is commonly used before a verb phrase to make an instruction sound polite:

• 请坐。 = Please sit.
• 请等一下。 = Please wait a moment.
• 请先取号。 = Please take a number first.

In signs and service situations, 请 often introduces a polite instruction rather than a request in the English conversational sense.

Why is 先 placed before 取号?

先 means first or before doing something else.

In Chinese, 先 usually comes before the verb it modifies:

• 先看 = look first
• 先吃饭 = eat first
• 先取号 = take a number first

So 请先取号 literally feels like:

• please + first + take-a-number

The idea is: before speaking to staff, before waiting for service, or before doing the next step, you should take a queue number.

What exactly does 取号 mean?