第四十二 (dì sì shí èr) — forty-second (ordinal number)

Definition

Ordinal form meaning 'forty-second' (42nd). Built like other Chinese ordinals: 第 + the cardinal number 四十二.

numeral
forty-second (ordinal number)

Examples

  • 第四十二。
    Qǐng dǎ kāi dì sì shí èr yè.
    Please open page 42.
  • 第四十二。
    Tā shì wǒ men bān dì sì shí èr míng xué shēng.
    He is the 42nd student in our class.
  • 第四十二。
    Wǒ men zhù zài dì sì shí èr hào.
    We live at number 42.

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
四十二forty-two
四sìfour十shíten二èrtwo
联合Side by side

第 adds ordinal meaning to the whole number 四十二, not to 四, 十, or 二 separately.

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 →

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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 →

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 →

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