第 — “order / ordinal prefix” in Japanese

Grade 3だい

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

“order / ordinal prefix” in Japanese is 第, read dai (だい). 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 dai (だい) depending on the word.

Words with 第

第一歩だいいっぽ
第一

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Kanji read the same way as 第

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Updated: 2026-08-28