第 — order / ordinal prefix

Grade 3だい

Radical ⽵ · radical 118 The building block this kanji is filed under

第 (readings: だい; Japanese kanji) means “order / ordinal prefix”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 第一 (first).

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What does 第 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	第
Meaning	order / ordinal prefix
Readings	だい
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	第一 (first)

How to read 第

第 is read だい depending on the word.

Words with 第

第一歩だいいっぽbước đầu tiên
第一thứ nhất

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Updated: 2026-08-09