Ordinal numbers with "di"

Also known as: 序数 (xùshù), ordinals and sequence numbers.

We use ordinal numbers express things like "number one" or "second," so mastering them in Chinese is important. Fortunately, they are also very easy to learn.

Basic Structure

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:

第 + Number

Examples

• 第一first
• 第二second
• 第三third
• 我 是 第四。I'm the fourth.

Full Structure

You can also add in a [measure word] (MW) and a [noun] to make the structure a bit fuller.

第 + Number （+ MW + Noun）

Examples

• 我 是 第四 个 人 。I'm the fourth person.
• 这 是 我 的 第二 个 女儿。This is my second daughter.
• 小李 是 他的 第三 个 女朋友。Little Li is his third girlfriend.
• 这 是 我 今天 喝 的 第八 瓶 啤酒。This is the 8th bottle of beer I drank today.
• 第一 个 月，我们 去 中国，第二 个 月，我们 要 去 泰国。The first month, we go to China, and the second month, we go to Thailand.

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

• 第一 天，我们 在 宾馆 里。On the first day, we will be in the hotel.
• 第二 天，我们 去 了 长城。On the second day, we went to the Great Wall.
• 这是 我 第一 次 去 北京。This is the first time I've been to Beijing.

Exceptions

Note that some nouns can form ordinals without 第. These include:

• 楼
• 层
• 姐
• 弟
• 妹
• 哥

With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 七楼 is "the seventh floor"，or 二姐 "the second oldest sister".

See also

• Measure words for counting

Sources and further reading

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 58-73) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 17-8) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 183) →buy