爭先恐後 zhēng xiān kǒng hòu

DEFINITIONS

  1. striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another

CHARACTERS

爭 zhēng to dispute, fight, contend, strive
先 xiān
HSK 1
first, former, previous
恐 kǒng
HSK 4
fear; fearful, apprehensive
後 hòu behind, rear, after; descendents