Dictionary › 第

第

dì

HSK 2 Character

What 第 means

1. (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in {第六|dì liù} "sixth")
2. literarygrades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed
3. oldresidence of a high official
4. literarybut; however
5. literaryonly; just

Example sentences

• 第二个吧。
  I'd say the second one.
• 生活第一！
  Life first!
• 我是第一。
  I'm first.
• 你是第一。
  You're the first.
• 这是第一次。
  This is the first time.
• 第二课容易。
  Lesson Two is easy.

Words starting with 第

• 第一dì yīfirst; most important; primary; foremost
• 第二dì èrsecond; number two; next
• 第五dì wǔfifth
• 第比利斯Dì bì lì sīT'bilisi, capital of Georgia 格鲁吉亚
• 第纳尔dì nà ěrdinar (currency) (loanword)
• 第勒尼安海Dì lè ní ān HǎiTyrrhenian Sea between Sardinia and the Italian mainland
• 第蒙Dì méng(Taiwan) Des Moines, capital of Iowa
• 第戎Dì róngDijon (France)
• 第一手dì yī shǒufirst-hand
• 第一次dì yī cìthe first time; for the first time
• 第一步dì yī bùstep one; first step
• 第一流dì yī liúfirst-class
• 第一炮dì yī pào(fig.) opening shot
• 第一眼dì yī yǎnat first glance; at first sight
• 第一线dì yī xiànfront line; forefront
• 第一声dì yī shēngfirst tone in Mandarin; high, level tone
• 第一轮dì yī lúnfirst round (of match, or election)
• 第三地dì sān dìterritory belonging to a third party…
• 第三方dì sān fāngthird party
• 第三纪dì sān jìthird period; tertiary…
• 第三者dì sān zhěthird party; (in romance) the other woman or man
• 第三声dì sān shēngthird tone in Mandarin; falling-rising tone
• 第二天dì èr tiānnext day; the morrow
• 第二性Dì èr xìngThe Second Sex (book by Simone de Beauvoir)

Words containing 第

• 印第安人Yìn dì ān rénAmerican Indians
• 次第cì dìorder; sequence; one after another
• 印第安Yìn dì ān(American) Indian; native American; indigenous peoples of the Americas
• 书香门第shū xiāng mén dìfamily with a literary reputation (idiom); literary family
• 府第fǔ dìmansion house; official residence
• 宅第zhái dìresidence; mansion
• 不第bù dìto fail the civil service examination (in imperial China)
• 上第shàng dìtop notch; highest quality
• 及第jí dìto pass an imperial examination
• 品第pǐn dìgrade (i.e. quality); rank
• 等第děng dìlevel; rank; grade
• 门第mén dìfamily status
• 私第sī dì(literary) private residence; private house
• 印第安纳Yìn dì ān nàIndiana, US state
• 加里波第Jiā lǐ bō dìGuiseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), Italian military commander and politician
• 居第jū dìhousing; high-class residence
• 落第luò dìto fail an exam
• 诺曼第Nuò màn dìNormandy, France
• 印第安座Yìn dì ān zuòIndus (constellation)
• 故第gù dìformer residence
• 甲第jiǎ dìresidence of a noble; top candidate in the imperial examinations
• 安第斯山脉Ān dì sī Shān màithe Andes Mountains (in South America)
• 贾第虫jiǎ dì chóng(biology) giardia (esp. Giardia lamblia)
• 贾第虫病jiǎ dì chóng bìng(medicine) giardiasis

Characters built on 竹

These share the phonetic component 竹 (zhú), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 籍jí(bound form) book; record; register; (bound form) place of one's family or ancestral…
• 笛díflute
• 篱lía fence
• 笠lìbamboo rain hat
• 笞chīto whip with bamboo strips
• 篪chíbamboo flute with 7 or 8 holes
• 笈jítrunks (for books)
• 箕jīwinnow basket

Characters that look like 第

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 策cèpolicy; plan; scheme
• 巢cháonest
• 葱cōngscallion; green onion
• 粟sùmillet; (metonym) grain
• 冤yuāninjustice; grievance; wrong
• 巽xùnto obey; one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦; ☴

Sounds the same

Read dì, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 地earth; ground; field
• 弟younger brother; junior male; I (modest word in letter)
• 递to hand over; to pass on; to deliver; (bound form) progressively; in the proper order
• 缔(archaic) to bind up inextricably; (bound form) to form an enduring union…
• 帝(bound form) emperor; sovereign; supreme deity
• 蒂stem (of fruit)
• 谛to examine; truth (Buddhism)
• 娣wife of a younger brother
• 睇(literary) to cast a sidelong glance; (dialect) to see; to look at
• 棣Kerria japonica
• 的(bound form) bull's-eye; target
• 哋(Cant.) plural for pronouns