Ordinal numbers with "di"
- Also known as: 序数 (xùshù), ordinals and sequence numbers.
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Level
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Similar to
- Age with "sui" (A1)
- Measure word "ge" (A1)
- Measure words for counting (A2)
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Used for
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Keywords
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.
Contents
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The first.
- 第 二The second.
- 第 三The third.
- 第 四The fourth.
- 第 五The fifth.
- 第 六The sixth.
- 第 七The seventh.
- 第 八The eigth.
- 第 九The ninth.
- 第 十The tenth.
- 我 是 第四。I'm the fourth.
- 这 次 考试，我 是 我们 班 第 一。This exam, I was the 1st in my class.
- 我们 班 第 一，他们 班 第 二。Our class is the 1st, their class is the 2nd.
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.
- 我 的第 一 个中文 老师 是 美国 人。
- 我 的第 一 个手机 是 NOKIA。
- 我 的第 一 个工作 是 服务 员。
- 你 是 我 的 第 一 个 朋友。
- 我们 今天 学第 三 课。
- 这 是 我第 一 次 说 中文。
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".
