Difference between revisions of "Ordinal numbers with "di""
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{{AKA|序数 (xùshù)|ordinals|sequence numbers}}
 
{{AKA|序数 (xùshù)|ordinals|sequence numbers}}
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{{Grammar Box}}
  
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In English, there are four different suffixes for ordinal numbers: ''-st'', ''-nd'', ''-rd'' and ''-th''. Chinese makes things a lot simpler by using one prefix for all ordinal numbers: 第. This character is simply placed in front of the number:
+
We use ordinal numbers to express things like "number one" or "second," so mastering them in Chinese is important. Fortunately, they are also very easy to learn by just adding the prefix 第 (dì).
 +
 
 +
== Basic Usage ==
 +
 
 +
In English, there are four different suffixes for ordinal numbers: ''-st'', ''-nd'', ''-rd'' and ''-th''. Chinese makes things a lot simpler by using one prefix for all ordinal numbers: 第 (dì). This character is simply placed in front of the number:
 +
 
 +
=== Structure ===
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
Line 9: Line 16:
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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Some examples:
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=== Examples ===
 +
 
 +
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
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<tr>
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<th style="width:20%">Chinese</th>
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<th style="width:25%">English</th>
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</tr>
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<tr><td>第 一<span class="pinyin">dì-yī</span></td><td>The first</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 二<span class="pinyin">dì-èr</span></td><td>The second</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>第 三<span class="pinyin">dì-sān</span></td><td>The third</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>第 四<span class="pinyin">dì-sì</span></td><td>The fourth</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>第 五<span class="pinyin">dì-wǔ</span></td><td>The fifth</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 六<span class="pinyin">dì-liù</span></td><td>The sixth</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 七<span class="pinyin">dì-qī</span></td><td>The seventh</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 八<span class="pinyin">dì-bā</span></td><td>The eighth</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 九<span class="pinyin">dì-jiǔ</span></td><td>The ninth</td></tr>
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<tr><td>第 十<span class="pinyin">dì-shí</span></td><td>The tenth</td></tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 
 +
== Full Pattern with Measure Words ==
 +
 
 +
You can also add in a [[measure word]] and a [[noun]] to make the structure a bit fuller.
  
 +
=== Structure ===
 +
 +
<div class="jiegou">
 +
 +
第 + Number + Measure Word + Noun
 +
 +
</div>
 +
 +
=== Examples ===
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
−
* 第一
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* 我 是 <em>第 一</em> <strong> 个 </strong> 到 公司 的 人。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ shì <em>dì-yī</em>  <strong>gè</strong> dào gōngsī de rén.</span><span class="trans">I'm the first person that came to the office.</span>
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* 第二
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* 他 要 坐 早上 <em>第 一</em> <strong>班</strong> 地铁 去 上班。<span class="pinyin">Tā yào zuò zǎoshang <em>dì-yī</em> <strong> bān</strong> dìtiě qù shàngbān.</span><span class="trans">He needs to take the first train in the morning to go to work.</span>
−
* 第三
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* 小李 是 她 的 <em>第 三</em> <strong>个</strong> 男朋友。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Lǐ shì tā de <em>dì-sān</em> <strong>gè</strong> nánpéngyou.</span><span class="trans">Little Li is her third boyfriend.</span>
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* 第四
+
* 我 的 <em>第 一</em> <strong>个</strong>中文 老师 是 美国 人。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ de <em>dì-yī</em> <strong>gè</strong> Zhōngwén lǎoshī shì Měiguó rén.</span><span class="trans">My first Chinese teacher was American.</span>
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* 小李 是 他的 <em>第三</em> 个 女朋友。
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* 爸爸 的 <em>第 一</em> <strong>个</strong>手机 是 NOKIA。<span class="pinyin">Bàba de <em>dì-yī</em> <strong>gè</strong> shǒujī shì NOKIA.</span><span class="trans">Dad‘s first cell phone was a  Nokia.</span>
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* 这 是 我 今天 喝 的 <em>第八</em> 瓶 啤酒。
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* 你 的 <em>第 一</em> <strong>个</strong>工作 是 什么？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de <em>dì-yī</em> <strong>gè</strong> gōngzuò shì shénme? </span><span class="trans">What was your first job? </span>
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* 我 是 我们 班 同学 里 <em>第二</em> 高的 人。
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* 到 美国 的 <em>第 二</em><strong>个</strong> 月，我 找到 了 工作。<span class="pinyin">Dào Měiguó de <em>dì-èr</em><strong> gè</strong>  yuè, wǒ  zhǎodào le gōngzuò .</span><span class="trans">I found a job the second month I was in the USA.</span>
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* <em>第 二</em> <strong>行</strong><em> 第 五</em> <strong>个</strong> 汉字 怎么 读？<span class="pinyin"><em>Dì-èr</em> <strong>háng</strong> <em> dì-wǔ </em> <strong>gè</strong> Hànzì zěnme dú? </span><span class="trans">How do you read the fifth character from the second line? </span>
 +
* 这 次 考试，我 是 我们 班 <em>第 一</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhè cì kǎoshì, wǒ shì wǒmen bān <em>dì-yī</em>.</span><span class="trans">On this test, I was first in our class.</span>
 +
* 这 次 比赛，我们 班 <em>第 一</em>，他们 班 <em>第 二</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhè cì bǐsài, wǒmen bān <em>dì-yī</em>, tāmen bān <em>dì-èr</em>.</span><span class="trans">In this contest, our class is the first, their class is the second.</span>
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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Note that some nouns can form ordinals without 第. These include:
+
Note that there are some words that don't use measure words because they themselves are already measure words. For example: 天 (tiān), 年 (nián), 周 (zhōu), 次 (cì), etc.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* <em>第 一</em> <strong>天</strong>，我们 在 宾馆 里。<span class="pinyin"><em>Dì-yī</em> <strong>tiān</strong>, wǒmen zài bīnguǎn lǐ.</span><span class="trans">On the first day, we will be in the hotel.</span>
 +
* 来 上海 以后 的 <em>第 二</em> <strong>年</strong>，他 开 了 这 家 公司。<span class="pinyin">Lái Shànghǎi yǐhòu de <em>dì-èr</em> <strong>nián</strong>,  tā kāi le zhè jiā gōngsī.</span><span class="trans">He started this company his second year after coming to Shanghai.</span>
 +
* 下 个 月 的 <em>第 一</em> <strong>周</strong> 老板 要 出差。<span class="pinyin">Xià gè yuè de <em>dì-yī</em><strong> zhōu </strong>, lǎobǎn yào chūchāi.</span><span class="trans">The boss needs to go on a business trip the first week of next month.</span>
 +
* 这 是 我 <em>第 一</em> <strong>次</strong> 去 北京。<span class="pinyin">Zhè shì wǒ <em>dì-yī</em> <strong>cì</strong> qù Běijīng.</span><span class="trans">This is my first time going to Beijing.</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
== Exceptions ==
 +
 
 +
Note that some nouns can form ordinals without 第 (dì). With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 七楼 (qī lóu) is "the seven''th'' floor," even though there is no 第 (dì).
  
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* 月
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<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
−
* 楼
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<tr>
−
* 层
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<th style="width:15%">Chinese</th>
−
* 姐
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<th style="width:50%">English</th>
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* 弟
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<th style="width:20%">Example</th>
 +
</tr>
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<tr><td>楼<span class="pinyin">lóu</span></td><td>floor (of a building)</td><td>七楼<span class="pinyin">qī lóu</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td>层<span class="pinyin">céng</span></td><td>floor (of a building)</td><td>一层<span class="pinyin">yī céng</span></td></tr>
 +
</table>
  
−
With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 第七楼 is "the seven''th'' floor".
+
==See also==
 +
*[[Measure words for counting]]
  
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
  
−
[http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA 外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照) (pp. 58 - 73)]
+
{{Source|HSK Standard Course 2|69}}
 +
{{Source|A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)|58-73}}
 +
{{Source|Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition|17-8}}
 +
{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|183}}
  
 +
{{HSK|HSK2}}{{2021-HSK|HSK2}}
 
[[Category:Number words]]
 
[[Category:Number words]]
 +
[[Category:Table]]
 +
{{Basic Grammar|第|A2|第 + Number (+ Measure Word)|你 是 我 的 <em>第 一</em> <strong>个</strong> 朋友。|grammar point|ASGK904U}}
 +
{{Similar|Measure words for counting}}
 +
{{Structure|Numbers and Measure Words}}
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{{Similar|Measure word "ge"}}   
 +
{{Used for|Expressing order}}
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{{Translation|first}}

Latest revision as of 08:53, 21 April 2021

Also known as: 序数 (xùshù), ordinals and sequence numbers.
Chinese-grammar-wiki－di.jpg

We use ordinal numbers to express things like "number one" or "second," so mastering them in Chinese is important. Fortunately, they are also very easy to learn by just adding the prefix 第 (dì).

Basic Usage

In English, there are four different suffixes for ordinal numbers: -st, -nd, -rd and -th. Chinese makes things a lot simpler by using one prefix for all ordinal numbers: 第 (dì). This character is simply placed in front of the number:

Structure

第 + Number

Examples

Chinese English
第 一dì-yīThe first
第 二dì-èrThe second
第 三dì-sānThe third
第 四dì-sìThe fourth
第 五dì-wǔThe fifth
第 六dì-liùThe sixth
第 七dì-qīThe seventh
第 八dì-bāThe eighth
第 九dì-jiǔThe ninth
第 十dì-shíThe tenth

Full Pattern with Measure Words

You can also add in a measure word and a noun to make the structure a bit fuller.

Structure

第 + Number + Measure Word + Noun

Examples

  • 我 是 第 一 个 到 公司 的 人。Wǒ shì dì-yī gè dào gōngsī de rén.I'm the first person that came to the office.
  • 他 要 坐 早上 第 一 班 地铁 去 上班。Tā yào zuò zǎoshang dì-yī bān dìtiě qù shàngbān.He needs to take the first train in the morning to go to work.
  • 小李 是 她 的 第 三 个 男朋友。Xiǎo Lǐ shì tā de dì-sān gè nánpéngyou.Little Li is her third boyfriend.
  • 我 的 第 一 个中文 老师 是 美国 人。Wǒ de dì-yī gè Zhōngwén lǎoshī shì Měiguó rén.My first Chinese teacher was American.
  • 爸爸 的 第 一 个手机 是 NOKIA。Bàba de dì-yī gè shǒujī shì NOKIA.Dad‘s first cell phone was a Nokia.
  • 你 的 第 一 个工作 是 什么？Nǐ de dì-yī gè gōngzuò shì shénme? What was your first job?
  • 到 美国 的 第 二个 月，我 找到 了 工作。Dào Měiguó de dì-èr gè yuè, wǒ zhǎodào le gōngzuò .I found a job the second month I was in the USA.
  • 第 二 行 第 五 个 汉字 怎么 读？Dì-èr háng dì-wǔ gè Hànzì zěnme dú? How do you read the fifth character from the second line?
  • 这 次 考试，我 是 我们 班 第 一。Zhè cì kǎoshì, wǒ shì wǒmen bān dì-yī.On this test, I was first in our class.
  • 这 次 比赛，我们 班 第 一，他们 班 第 二。Zhè cì bǐsài, wǒmen bān dì-yī, tāmen bān dì-èr.In this contest, our class is the first, their class is the second.

Note that there are some words that don't use measure words because they themselves are already measure words. For example: 天 (tiān), 年 (nián), 周 (zhōu), 次 (cì), etc.

  • 第 一 天，我们 在 宾馆 里。Dì-yī tiān, wǒmen zài bīnguǎn lǐ.On the first day, we will be in the hotel.
  • 来 上海 以后 的 第 二 年，他 开 了 这 家 公司。Lái Shànghǎi yǐhòu de dì-èr nián, tā kāi le zhè jiā gōngsī.He started this company his second year after coming to Shanghai.
  • 下 个 月 的 第 一 周 老板 要 出差。Xià gè yuè de dì-yī zhōu , lǎobǎn yào chūchāi.The boss needs to go on a business trip the first week of next month.
  • 这 是 我 第 一 次 去 北京。Zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì qù Běijīng.This is my first time going to Beijing.

Exceptions

Note that some nouns can form ordinals without 第 (dì). With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 七楼 (qī lóu) is "the seventh floor," even though there is no 第 (dì).

Chinese English Example
楼lóufloor (of a building)七楼qī lóu
层céngfloor (of a building)一层yī céng

See also

Sources and further reading

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