第 — Turns a count into a rank: 第 in front of a number names which one in the sequence, not how many.

grammar → 第

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

第 grammar point · tier 1 · ordinals 第 + number (第一, 第二 — which one in line)

· dì

Turns a count into a rank: 第 in front of a number names which one in the sequence, not how many.

Hook inherited from 量詞.

Turns a count into a rank

框 · Frame

第 [number] ([measure] [noun]) — 第一, 第二, 第三次

觸 · Trigger

You mean which one in a sequence, not how many of them.

序 · The move

1Set 第 in front.Do I mean a rank in a line, not a quantity?

2Put the number right after 第: 第一, 第二, 第三.Is the number the position, counting from one?

3Add the measure word and noun behind it as usual: 第三本書, 第一次.Does the measure still sit between number and noun, with 第 only on the front?

例 · Examples

1這是我第一次measure for occasions, time來come臺灣。

This is my first time coming to Taiwan.

界 · Boundary

數+量

數+量 counts how many (三本書 = three books); 第 + number names which one in line (第三本書 = the third book). Drop 第 and the rank collapses back to a quantity; add 第 and 三 stops meaning 'three of them' and starts meaning 'the third'.

✗ 一次 (for 'the first time') → ✓ 第一次

✗ 第三的書 → ✓ 第三本書

English builds ordinals by changing the word's ending (three → third); Chinese keeps the number whole and prefixes 第, so learners reach for a suffix or drop 第 entirely.