第一
first; number one
HSK level
- Pinyin
- dì-yī
- Part of speech
- phrase
- Level
- HSK 2
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 第一
第一 is written with 12 strokes (第: 11, 一: 1). The animation replays automatically.
What does 第一 mean?
第一 (dì-yī) means 'first' — the ordinal number 'one,' as in first place, first time, or first item in a sequence.
Chinese forms ordinals with the prefix 第 (dì) plus a number: 第一 'first,' 第二 'second,' 第三 'third,' and so on. This is one of the cleanest grammar patterns in the language — once you know 第, you can build every ordinal. Three common uses: ranking (第一名, 'first place'), enumeration (第一，... 第二，...
, 'firstly... secondly...'), and 'the first time' (第一次, dì-yī cì). Note the tone-change: 一 alone is yī, but in 第一 the tone stays as yī (high level) because 第 has already turned the number into an ordinal — it does not behave like the regular 一 + measure-word tone-change rules.
Character by character
Memory hook: 第 turns any number into an ordinal — like adding '-st / -nd / -th' in English.
Hear 第一 in real episodes
第一 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
第一节课，老师教了一会儿，他就能把球打过网了。
In the first class, after the teacher taught for a little while, he could already hit the ball over the net.
Pickleball Is Taking Off in China: 8 Million Regular Players and 1,000 Tournaments a Year
他唱英语歌，也唱法语歌，都得了第一名。
He sang in English and in French, and won first prize in both.
Liu Huan, Who Sang the 2008 Beijing Olympics Theme 'You and Me,' Dies at 63
在西区，Dodgers 是第一。
In the West division, the Dodgers are first.
Dodgers Clinch 5th Straight NL West Title
Example sentences
这是我第一次来中国。
Zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì lái Zhōngguó.
This is my first time coming to China.
neutral
他得了第一名。
Tā dé le dì-yī míng.
He got first place.
neutral
第一天上班，我很紧张。
Dì-yī tiān shàngbān, wǒ hěn jǐnzhāng.
First day at work, I was so nervous.
spoken
你是第一个到的。
Nǐ shì dì-yī ge dào de.
You're the first one to arrive.
spoken
学习汉语，第一是要多听。
Xuéxí Hànyǔ, dì-yī shì yào duō tīng.
When studying Chinese, the first thing is to listen a lot.
neutral
Common phrases with 第一
Synonyms
首 means 'first / head' in formal compounds (首次, 'first time'; 首位, 'top spot'). 第一 is the everyday version; 首 is literary or used in news/business writing.
Spoken alternative for 'first' in casual speech: 头一次 ('first time'), 头一个 ('the first one'). Slightly more colloquial than 第一; both are common.
Don't confuse 第一 with
一 is the cardinal number 'one' (一个人, 'one person'). 第一 is the ordinal 'first.' Without 第, the meaning shifts from rank to count.
第二 ('second') uses the same 第 prefix. Just swap the number after 第 to form any ordinal.
弟 ('younger brother') is a different character with the same pinyin as 第. 第一 = first; 弟 has nothing to do with ordering.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 第一 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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