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第十八 (dì shí bā) — eighteenth

Definition

numeral
eighteenth

Examples

  • 第十八。
    Zhè shì tā de dì shí bā gè shēng rì.
    This is his eighteenth birthday.
  • 第十八。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng dé le dì shí bā míng.
    He got eighteenth place in the competition.
  • 第十八。
    dì shí bā Yè dào dì èr shí yè de nèi róng wǒ dōu méi kàn.
    I haven't read the content from page eighteen to page twenty.

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
十八eighteen
十shíten八bāeight
联合Coordinate

第 points to order; 十 and 八 are ten and eight, making eighteen.

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.

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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