Ordinal Numbers
Back in Lesson 38, we began the arduous journey of learning how to count in Japanese. Numbers such as “one” and “two,” “一” and “ニ,” etc., are known as “cardinal numbers (基数).” Cardinal numbers are used to count quantities, which is why they are paired with counters to that effect.
i. 一切れ
One slice
ii. 二頭
Two large animals
The opposite of “cardinal numbers” is what are known as “ordinal numbers (順序数詞1）,” and unlike cardinal numbers, these numbers pertain to the following in English: sequencing, dates, floors, centuries, etc.
iii. First place
iv. The twenty-second of February
v. Third floor
vi. 23rd century
With Indo-European languages, it is customary to learn ordinal numbers, figuring out how grammatical gender and number both affect the word forms as well as how they are written in shorthand with Arabic numerals like in vi. The story is quite different in Japanese. rather than having a unique set of word forms, various counters naturally fill this role for the usages listed above.
iii. 一位
First place
iv. ２月２２日
The twenty-second of February
v. 三階
Third floor2
vi. ２３世紀
23rd century
Other examples include the following:
vii. ４５号室
Room 45
vix. 一番街
First Avenue
These examples both utilize a kanji equating to “no.” followed by the thing being numbered, which is structurally close to how an ordinal suffix such as the English “-th” would function. It just so happens that there is, in fact, a way to extend this more broadly via the aid of the suffix ～目.
The suffix ～目 is the closest thing to the English “-th,” and it is capable of being added to any “counter” phrase to indicate the referent’s count/order in a series.
1. 二匹目の猫
The second cat
2. 左から二番目の車線
The second lane from the left
3. ２号3目のことも考えています。
I’m also thinking about the second edition/model/issue.
4. ３回目の挑戦
The third challenge/attempt
5. ５人目の赤ちゃんを期待しています。
(We)’re expected our fifth child.
Similarly to English, it is also possible to emphasize certain ranks/levels out of formality. For instance, the difference between “third floor” and “Floor 3” is largely a matter of emphasis, but most speakers would view the latter as being both more formal and what one would expect to be written in signage. Though Japanese conveniently has a counter for floors, numbering can be emphasized in a similar way via the prefix 第～, which can also be paired with Sino-Japanese numbers in isolation as well as counter phrases.
6. 第一
First (and foremost); No. 1
7. 第２４０課
Lesson 240
While this information largely describes how “ordinal numbers” are represented in Japanese, we will spend the remainder of this lesson going into the minutiae of these corresponding patterns that are available.
Generic Ordering w/ ～目
If 第～ indicates a certain level of formality/importance, then conversely, ～目 simply expresses ordering in a generic sense. As such, we can expect it to be valid with any counter phrase.
8.「ねえ、そのお寿司は何皿め？」「確か、１８皿めだよ」
“Hey, what plate of sushi are you on there?” “Pretty sure this is my 18th.”
9.２つ目の信号を右に曲がってください。
Turn right at the second light.
10. 一行目の左から五つ目の文字は誤植です。
The fifth letter from the first line is a misprint.
11. 上から3段目の棚に片づけてね。
Store it on the third shelf from the top, k?
12. きょうで7例目になります。
This makes the seventh case as of today.
13. 飲食店でバイトして1か月目です。
I’m currently in my first month of working part-time at a restaurant.
14. 大会の１０日目が行われた。
The tenth day of the tournament took place.
15. 今年で５冊目です。
This marks the fifth book of the year (for me).
16. 覚悟を持って事業承継に向き合っている2代目の皆さん！
To all the second-generation leaders out there who are facing the challenge of business succession with unwavering resolve!
17. 2台持ちであれば、1台目の車が万が一故障した場合でも、2台目の車を利用できます。
If you own two cars, you can still get around using the second vehicle in the unlikely event that the first one breaks down.
18. 1本目の動画はそこそこ視聴されたけど、その後の動画は全く再生されてない。
My first video got a decent number of views, but none of the videos I posted after that have gotten any views at all.
19. シメるつもりが酔い覚めて3軒目に行ってしまう・・・
I intended to call it a night, but I sobered up and ended up heading to a third place instead…
20. 17日は会社の連中と飲んだ後、フラッっと新宿2丁目4へ行った。
On the 17th, after having drinks with some coworkers, I wandered over to Shinjuku Ni-chome on a whim.
～番目 & ～回目
While ～番 and ～回 are both counters used to denote frequency, they behave quite differently when combined with the suffix ～目.
- ～番目 pertains to the exact numbering of an entity, whereas ～回目 indicates what number of times something is in a series of repetition.
21. ラファエル君が遅刻したのは、これで１０回目だよ。
This is the tenth time that Rafael-kun has arrived late.
22. 以下の画像の左から2番目に並んでいるのが、セス先生です。
The person standing second from the left in the image below is Seth-sensei.
23. 新型コロナウイルスワクチンの4回目の接種に向けた準備が始まりました。
Preparations for the fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have begun.
24. はい、あなたで20番目ですので、覚えておいてください。
Yes—you are the 20th person, so please reminder that.
25. 当初のメトロ計画に当駅は入っておらず、12番目の駅として開業した。
This station was not included in the original metro plan; it opened as the 12th station.
～番 or ～番目
Then, there is the counter ～番 itself, which can often fill the role of “-nth” without the intervention of ～目. From ～番’s pool of viable translations—”number,” “times,” “turn,” “rank,” “bout,” etc.—the notion of “series” is inherent in many of its applications.
一番 and 二番 can both be respectively literally translated as “number one” and “number two,” and in these literal capacities” the numbering can be done so to indicate rank, placement, positioning, etc., with context being crucial to their interpretation.
26. 1番を引くと飲食代が無料になる。
If you draw No. 1, your food and drinks are free.
27. 主人には悪いですが、2番は彼です。
I feel bad toward my husband (for saying this), but he is No. 2.
28. 正解は２番です。
The correct answer is No. 2.
To indicate a more literal interpretation of “placement” with ～番, Arabic numerals are usually used in place of their kanji counterparts. Otherwise, the more idiomatic meanings of 一番 (the best/first-tier) and 二番 (runner-up/second-tier/second time=rehashing) are more likely, with both being used in an array of set phrases which
29. やるからには一番を目指しています。
If I’m going to do something, I aim to be the best.
30. 家族のなかで誰が一番背が高いですか。
Who is the tallest person in your family?
31. 決勝は一番勝負であった。
The final match was a winner-take-all contest.
32. 一番弟子
One’s top pupil/one’s first pupil
33. 二番煎じ
Literal Meaning: Second brewing
Figurative Meaning: Rehashing
Even if ～番 constitutes a series, if the series pertains to geographical naming conventions, we see that ～目 does not intervene. This is both more concise and formal, explaining why train lines are numbered with ～番線 as opposed to ～番目の線. This is in line with the use of ～号室 and ～番街 seen earlier in this lesson. So long as the counter pertains to “No.” and is then followed by a morpheme indicating place, there is no grammatical need to have ～目 intervene to convey the sense of “-th.” Other examples include ～番地 (blocks in a neighborhood) and ～号車 (-nth car in a metro train).
34. 2番線をご利用の際は、恐れ入りますが、階段またはエスカレーターのご利用をお願いいたします。
If you are using Platform 2, we kindly ask that you use the stairs or the escalator.
35. 2丁目2番地に住んでました。
I used to live at 2-2.
36. 10号車に乗ってしまうと、東口までは相当離れた距離になってしまうので、要注意だ。
Be careful—if you board Car 10, you’ll find yourself quite a long walk away from the East Exit.
Given the above information, ～番目 is far more generic in relation to series. Meaning, it does not inherently create a superlative-like ranking in isolation.
37. １０万番目の訪問者はあなたです！
You are our 100,000th visitor!
38. 週の３番目の日は火曜日です。
The third day of the week is Tuesday.
39. どちらも意味は同じですが、個人的にしっくりくるのは一番目です。
Both have the same meaning, but personally, the first one feels more natural to me.
When paired with predicates to indicate “#-most” we do, in fact, see that ～＃番目 is used. When used adverbial with the aid of the particle に, we see it paired with a adjectival/verbal predicate to that effect.
40. 大阪は日本で２番目に大きい都市である。
Osaka is the second-largest city in Japan.
If “#-most” is an attribute to a noun phrase, than one would use ～＃番目の accordingly. Note that the noun phrase being modified will also have an attributive morpheme built into it for it to be ranked in comparison with the rest of the series at hand.
41. パリに続くフランス2番目の大都市であるマルセイユ
Marseille, France’s second-largest city after Paris
In the literal sense of “first-most,” you can, in fact, encounter 一番目に used in a superlative sense, but this would be out of grammatical necessity to be parallel with “second-most,” as is the case for its use in the following example.
42. 大日本帝国の時代には、一番目に高い山も二番目に高い山も台湾にあった。
During the age of the Empire of Japan, both the highest (lit. “first-most tall”) and second-highest mountains were located in Taiwan.
Emphatic Numbering w/ 第～
Primarily used with Sino-Japanese numbers5, the prefix 第～ indicates that the numbering at hand holds some level of significance. Such demarcations, ironically, often correspond to orderings in English which do not take “ordinal numbers” for the same emphatic effect.
43. 第３章
Chapter 3
44. 第３０話
Episode 30
45. 第１試合
Match 1
46. 第三6人称
Third person
47. 第二次世界大戦
World War II
48. 第一印象表情より身だしなみに注意が向くため、より身だしなみに注意しましょう！
Since first impressions tend to focus more on your appearance than on your facial expressions, be sure to pay extra attention to your appearance!
49. 第３幕を観てきました！
I came back from seeing Act III!
50. 核密約の内容は交渉の第１日7から示されていた。
The details of the secret nuclear agreement were laid out from the very first day of negotiations.
第一
The word 第一 literally translates as “first,” and this meaning can be extended to mean “most important” or even “best.” It may even translate as “foremost.”
51. 朝、第一にお祓いをさせて頂きました。
First thing in the morning, I performed a purification ritual.
52. 彼はアインシュタイン博士が世界第一の科学者であることを知っていた。
He knew that Dr. Einstein was the world’s foremost scientist.
53. さて、本日第一の目的地に到着です。
And now, we have arrived at our first destination of the day.
54. 今日のアメリカ合衆国は政治力、経済力、軍事力、その他ほとんどの領域において世界第一の国である。
Today, the United States of America is the world’s leading nation in terms of political power, economic power, military power, and almost every other domain.
55. アメリカ第一
America First
In Ex. 51, the particle に is appended largely due to 朝 being a non-deictic time expression, but it is also the case that 第一 itself functions as a no-adjective, meaning one would expect に to be appear when it functions adverbially in the sense of “first(ly).” Speaking of “firstly,” in the same way “firstly/secondly” are seldom used in the spoken language but common in essays and the like, the same can be said in Japanese with 第一に, 第二に, 第三に, etc. to this effect.
56. 小論文で大切なことは３つある。第１に、論理的であること。第２に、分かりやすいこと。第３に、納得できることである。
There are three essential elements in a short essay: first, it must be logical; second, it must be easy to understand; and third, it must be convincing.
Now, whenever 第一 is used adverbially but in the sense of “first and foremost/to begin with” in the sense of “setting everything else aside,” it notably does not take に.
57. 第一、説明しても誰も聞いてくれないんだ。
First and foremost, even if I explained, no one’ll listen to me.
58. 第一、その人にしかできるか、できないかは相手が決めること。
For one thing, whether or not someone is capable of doing something is for the other person to decide.
Another fun note about 第一 is its appearance in the names of institutions.
59. 第一ホテル
Dai-ichi Hotel
60. 第一製薬
DAIICHI PHARMACEUTICAL
第～ ＋ ＃ w/o Counter
Oftentimes, 第～ + # + の can be utilized without an intervening counter. This is done largely to have the labeling of “No.” stand out in a formal/technical/academic setting or to create some sort of idiomatic effect. If such emphatic labeling is not warranted, then “# + Counter + 目の” would likely be more natural.
61. 足が「第二の心臓」と呼ばれる理由をご存知でしょうか？
Do you know why the feet are referred to as the “second heart”?
62. 手は『第二の脳』と言われるように5本の指から手首まで多くの神経細胞が集まり、それが脳にリンクしている。
Just as the hands are called the “second brain,” a vast number of nerve cells are concentrated within them—spanning from the five fingers to the wrist—and these are directly linked to the brain.
63. この両者が論点であり、第一の論点だけで終えたり、第二の論点に触れたりしても、その特殊性を正当に評価しない限り、決して合格答案にはならない。
Both these points constitute the core arguments; even if one addresses only the first point, or merely touches upon the second, the response will never qualify as a passing answer unless the unique significance of each point is properly evaluated.
64. 定年退職した後、あるいはキャリアの半ばで、まったく異なる世界に身を投じ、第二の人生を歩む人々がいる。
There are individuals who, either after retiring or in the middle of their careers, immerse themselves in a completely different world and embark upon a “second life.”
65. 第二の成田空港事件になりかねないという心配がある。
here are concerns that this situation could escalate into a second Narita Airport incident8.
66. すべての犬が犬のルームメイトを好むわけではありません。とても注意深く、中立的な場所で彼らを紹介し、｛第二の犬・二匹目の犬｝を迎える前に彼らのボディランゲージを理解する必要があります。
Not all dogs appreciate having a canine roommate. You must proceed with great caution—introducing them in a neutral setting—and learn to interpret their body language before bringing a “second dog” into your home.
67. 普段であればせいぜい２回しか食事を取らないところ、安息日だけはこのように３回取るため、ユダヤ教徒はその３回目の食事を特に「第三の食事」と呼んで重視していたわけである。
Whereas they would typically eat no more than twice a day, on the Sabbath—and only on the Sabbath—they partake in three meals; consequently, Jewish people placed special emphasis on this third meal, specifically designating it the “Third Meal.”
68. ニュースの視点の第三の問題点は、定型的なニュースがまだ多いという事実である。
The third issue regarding the perspective of news reporting is the fact that a great deal of news remains formulaic/stereotyped.
69. この事件には第三の人物が関係していて、開いた窓越しに外から撃ったのだろうということが考えられる。
It is conceivable that a third party was involved in this incident and fired the shot from outside through an open window.
70.「第三のビール」とは、ビール、発泡酒とは別の原料・製法で作られた、ビール風味の発泡アルコール飲料のことである。
“Third-category beer” refers to a beer-flavored alcoholic beverage produced using ingredients and brewing methods distinct from those used for standard beer or happoshu (low-malt beers).
71. ダマスカスはイスラム第4の聖地と言われています。
Damascus is said to be the fourth-holiest site in Islam.
第～ ＋ ＃ w Counter
As has been highlighted above, 第～ intervenes to enumerate something as distinct entities in a series deemed important enough to be highlighted to that effect. Whether it be chapters of a book, the episodes in a TV series, or the number of waves of a pandemic, or even how lanes are numbered on a roadway, 第～ establishes which number in said series the referent is unambiguously as opposed to the quantity. In the spoken language, however, if it is obvious in context what “nth” entity is being discussed as opposed to quantity, 第～ is often omitted on top of ～目 being implemented, so long as the counters in question
72. 第５話のあらすじを公開しました！
We’ve released the summary for Episode 5!
73. 第1章から第10章まで書けた。
I was able to write Chapters 1 through 10.
74. 津波は第一波よりも第二波、第三波が大きくなることがよくあります。
With tsunamis, the second and third waves are often larger than the first.
75. 厳格な人口比例が要求される第1院が主として東京などの過密地域の意見を強く反映するのに対し、すべての都道府県が同一の発言力を有する第2院は相対的に過疎地域の意見を強く反映することとなり、二つの院全体としては、バランス良く全国民の代表者としての議会たり得ると考える。
Whereas the “First Chamber”—where strict proportional representation is mandated—primarily and strongly reflects the views of densely populated regions such as Tokyo, the “Second Chamber”—in which every prefecture holds equal voting power—relatively and strongly reflects the views of sparsely populated regions; thus, I believe that the two chambers, taken together, can serve as a well-balanced legislature representing the entire citizenry.
76. 第2車線（1つ右のレーン）に入ってから追い抜かなければなりません。
You must move into the second lane (the lane to your right) before passing (the other vehicle).
In the spoken language, 第～ is often omitted even when ～目 is NOT being implemented, with the counter itself being sufficient to denote the “-nth” of said entity. We saw this earlier with the counter ～階 for floors, and in addition to it, the counters ～話, ～章, ～波, ～車線, and many more also behave in this manner. The one thing all these counters have in common is that they can all be interpreted as “levels” with finite start and end points which can be crossed.
77. 〇〇というアニメの3話を見ました 。
I watched Episode 3 of the anime “##.”
78. 申し訳ないけど、えらく単調なので1章読み終わった所でそっと閉じました。
I hate to say it, but it was incredibly dull, so I quietly closed the book after finishing just the first chapter.
79. コロナ1波の時に購入しました。
I purchased (this) during the first wave of COVID-19.
80. 本来は2車線に入ってから3車線に合流するはずなのに、もう3車線にそのまま入るのが当たり前になっちゃったよね。
Technically, you’re supposed to merge into the third lane after entering the second lane, but it’s become the norm to just head straight into the third lane from the get-go, huh.
The (Un)grammaticality of 第～目
Usually, the use of both 第～ and ～目 at the same time is deemed ungrammatical on the grounds of redundancy—a classic example of a 重複表現. Some speakers argue, however, that there is a subtle difference between the two that allows for them to be compatible. Whereas 第～ places emphasis on the “-nth” number of some entity out of a whole, ～目 places emphasis on each “-nth” being a continuation of some sort.
For instance, let’s compare 第１試合 with １試合目. The former clearly establishes the match as “Match 1,” and we can assume that there are only going to be a certain number of matches and that each match is clearly defined, beginning and end. Meanwhile, １試合目 is not predefined in this manner. Instead, all we can glean is that “one match” has been completed and that others are to follow.
What, then, would the nuancing be like if both 第～ and ～目 were employed? Naturally, both would be implied. For instance, 第１回目の受賞者 “first ever recipient” by this logic becomes grammatical and not so redundant at all. The recipient is the first to ever receive the reward, and it is presumed that others in the future will receive it when the time is right, but that its first time being received by someone is still from the “first ceremony.”
- Although also simply known as 序数詞, this term is often avoided so that it is not confused with the homophonous term 助数詞 in the spoken language. ↩︎
- Note that, even in English, “Floor 3” is acceptable. ↩︎
- The possible referents for 号 are varied, largely revolving around entities that can be viewed as editions, makes, models, issues, etc. ↩︎
- ～丁目 denotes a “city block.” ↩︎
- 第～ may also appear with the native numbers /yon/ for “4” and /nana/ for “7.” Traditionally, however, their Sino-Japanese equivalents /shi/ and /shichi/ respectively may still be encountered. ↩︎
- In jargon as well as in highly formal writing, writing numerals in kanji is preferred when 第～ is attached. ↩︎
- For the counter ～日, the irregular reversal to native vocabulary for particular days as in days of the month, 二日（ふつか） for “the second,” etc., is not carried over when 第～ is employed. Meaning, 第一日 is read as だいいちにち, 第二日 is read as だいににち, and so on. As for 第四日, 第七日, and 第九日, the preferred readings respectively are だいよんにち, だいしちにち, and だいくにち. ↩︎
- Referring to the bombing of the Narita International Airport in 1985. ↩︎