Difference between revisions of "Ordinal numbers with "di""

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* 弟
 
* 弟
  
With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 第七楼 is "the seven''th'' floor".
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With these, the number can be used directly. For example, 七楼 is "the seven''th'' floor",or 二姐 "the second oldest daughter".
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==See also==
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*[[Measure words for counting]]
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== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==

Revision as of 06:34, 21 November 2011

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

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:

第 + Number

Some examples:

  • 第一
  • 第二
  • 第三
  • 第四
  • 小李 是 他的 第三 个 女朋友。
  • 这 是 我 今天 喝 的 第八 瓶 啤酒。
  • 我 是 我们 班 同学 里 第二 高的 人。

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

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

See also


Sources and further reading

外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照) (pp. 58 - 73)