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第十六 (dì shí liù) — sixteenth (ordinal number)

Definition

numeral
sixteenth (ordinal number)

Examples

  • 第十六。
    Wǒ zhù zài dì shí liù céng lóu.
    I live on the sixteenth floor.
  • 第十六。
    Zhè shì dì shí liù kè de nèi róng.
    This is the content of the sixteenth lesson.
  • 第十六。
    Tā pǎo dào le dì shí liù míng.
    He finished in sixteenth 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dìorder
十六sixteen
十shíten六liùsix
联合Coordinate

第 places 十六 (sixteen) in order, giving sixteenth.

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.

The shape of 六 may come from a simple drawing of a shed, or from an ancient counting mark.

Open 六 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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