第二十三 (dì èr shí sān) — twenty-third (ordinal number)

Definition

numeral
twenty-third (ordinal number)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 第二十三。
    Qǐng fān dào shū de dì èr shí sān yè.
    Please turn to the twenty-third page of the book.
  • 第二十三。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng huò dé le dì èr shí sān míng.
    He won twenty-third place in the competition.
  • 第二十三。
    Wǒ men zhèng zài xué xí dì èr shí sān kè.
    We are studying Lesson Twenty-Three.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𥫗Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
弟
弟dì第dì
Same sound today

第 shows 𥫗, the bamboo strips once used for writing and sorting, with 弟 giving the sound.

Open 第 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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