第
第 — No.
No., residence
On’yomiダイ (dai)
On’yomiテイ (tei)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (11 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 第
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 次第に | しだいに shidaini | gradually; by degrees; little by little |
| 第一歩 | だいいっぽ daiippo | first step |
| 第三者 | だいさんしゃ daisansha | third party; third person; outsider |
| 第一人者 | だいいちにんしゃ daiichininsha | leading person; foremost figure |
| 第二次世界大戦 | だいにじせかいたいせん dainijisekaitaisen | Second World War (1939-1945); World War II; WWII |
| 第一線 | だいいっせん daiissen | the front (of a battlefield); forefront |
Study notes
第 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #160 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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