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-yī |
The first |
第 二dì-èr |
The second |
第 三dì-sān |
The third |
第 四dì-sì |
The fourth |
第 五dì-wǔ |
The fifth |
第 六dì-liù |
The sixth |
第 七dì-qī |
The seventh |
第 八dì-bā |
The eighth |
第 九dì-jiǔ |
The ninth |
第 十dì-shí |
The 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lóu |
floor (of a building) |
七楼qī lóu |
层céng |
floor (of a building) |
一层yī céng |
See also
Sources and further reading
Category:Number words
Category:Table