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第二十 (dì èr shí) — twentieth

Definition

numeral
twentieth

Examples

  • 第二十。
    Zhè shì tā dì dì èr shí cì lái zhōng guó.
    This is his twentieth time coming to China.
  • 第二十。
    dì èr shí Gè xué shēng yǐ jīng jiāo zuò yè le.
    The twentieth student has already handed in the homework.
  • 第二十。
    Zhè běn shū shì dì èr shí bǎn.
    This book is the twentieth edition.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
前缀qiánzhuìPrefix

A fixed syllable in front that adds a shade of meaning but carries none of its own.

第dìorder
二十twenty
二èrtwo十shíten
偏正Modifier + head

第 gives order and 二十 gives twenty, making twentieth.

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 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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