Chinese Ordinal Numbers

Chinese ordinal numbers are used to describe the position of something in a sequence.

They answer the question:

“Which one?”

Examples include:

Number	Chinese	Pinyin
1st	第一	dì yī
2nd	第二	dì èr
3rd	第三	dì sān

Ordinal numbers are commonly used when talking about:

• rankings
• floors in a building
• chapters or sections in a book
• events in a sequence

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Forming Ordinal Numbers in Chinese

Most Chinese ordinal numbers are formed by adding the prefix:

第 (dì)

before the number.

Examples:

Number	Chinese	Pinyin
1st	第一	dì yī
2nd	第二	dì èr
3rd	第三	dì sān
4th	第四	dì sì
5th	第五	dì wǔ

This pattern works for almost all ordinal numbers.

Example:

第十
dì shí

Meaning:

tenth

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Chinese Ordinal Numbers 1–20

Here are common Chinese ordinal numbers.

Number	Chinese	Pinyin
1st	第一	dì yī
2nd	第二	dì èr
3rd	第三	dì sān
4th	第四	dì sì
5th	第五	dì wǔ
6th	第六	dì liù
7th	第七	dì qī
8th	第八	dì bā
9th	第九	dì jiǔ
10th	第十	dì shí
11th	第十一	dì shí yī
12th	第十二	dì shí èr
13th	第十三	dì shí sān
14th	第十四	dì shí sì
15th	第十五	dì shí wǔ
16th	第十六	dì shí liù
17th	第十七	dì shí qī
18th	第十八	dì shí bā
19th	第十九	dì shí jiǔ
20th	第二十	dì èr shí

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Using Ordinal Numbers in Chinese

Ordinal numbers are commonly used in everyday expressions.

Examples:

第一名
dì yī míng

Meaning:

first place

Another example:

第二章
dì èr zhāng

Meaning:

Chapter two

Another example:

第三页
dì sān yè

Meaning:

page three

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Ordinal Numbers in Chinese Dates

Chinese dates usually use cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers.

Example:

2026年3月4日

However, ordinal numbers may appear in formal writing, titles, or structured lists.

For more information about Chinese dates, check out our Chinese Dates page.

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Practice Chinese Ordinal Numbers

You can practice Chinese numbers using the tools below.

Try Our Chinese Numbers Interactive Translate Tool

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Test Your Knowledge. Take the Chinese Numbers Quiz

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Related Chinese Pages

Further reference: Wikibooks Mandarin numbers.