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第十五 (dì shí wǔ) — fifteenth

Definition

numeral
fifteenth

Examples

  • 第十五。
    Zhè shì dì shí wǔ zhāng de nèi róng.
    This is the content of the fifteenth chapter.
  • 第十五。
    Wǒ men zuò zài dì shí wǔ pái.
    We sat in the fifteenth row.
  • 第十五。
    Tā huò dé le dì shí wǔ míng.
    He obtained the fifteenth place.

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dì
十五fifteen
十shíten五wǔfive
联合Coordinate

'第' with '十五' (fifteen) gives fifteenth.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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