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第十 (dì shí) — tenth (ordinal number)

Definition

numeral
tenth (ordinal number)

Examples

  • 第十。
    Tā kǎo le dì shí míng.
    He got tenth place.
  • 第十。
    Zhè shì tā dì shí cì lái zhōng guó.
    This is her tenth time coming to China.
  • 第十。
    Wǒ de fáng jiān zài dì shí céng.
    My room is on the tenth floor.

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dìordinal
十shíten

第 marks an ordinal position, and 十 gives the number ten.

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.

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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