ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

第 dì ordinal prefix - 第一 first, 第二 second

ordinal prefix - 第一 first, 第二 second; ordinal prefix - 第一 first; 第二 second

How to remember 第: 𥫗 bamboo + 𢎨 sequence = ordinal prefix - 第一 first, 第二 second. The panda keeper numbers every bamboo stick in sequence, first, second, third, like a teacher explaining the ordinal prefix.

  • 114. most frequent character
  • HSK 1
  • 11 strokes
  • Radical 竹

Component breakdown

第 = 𥫗 bamboo + 𢎨 sequence

  • 𥫗 bamboo
  • 𢎨 sequence
The Gushi story

The panda keeper numbers every bamboo stick in sequence, first, second, third, like a teacher explaining the ordinal prefix.

How it is used

  • The ordinal prefix - attach it to a number to make 'the Nth': 第一 (dì-yī) first, 第三次 (dì-sān cì) the third time, 第二天 (dì-èr tiān) the next day.
  • Without 第, a bare number-plus-measure counts quantity (三个 three of them); with 第 it ranks position (第三个 the third one).
  • Note ordinals use 二 not 两 - 第二, never 第两.

Words with 第

Example sentences

  • 我是第一名。 Wǒ shì dì-yī míng.I've achieved first place.
  • 黄河是中国的第二大河。 Huánghé shì Zhōngguó de dì èr dà hé.The Yellow River is the second longest river in China.