dai6 jat1第一

Jyutpingdai6 jat1

Yaledaih yāt

數詞Very common

Definition

First; positioned at the very beginning, or the most important.

ngo5我dai6第jat1一ci3次lai4嚟hoeng1香gong2港。

It's my first time in Hong Kong.

neutralnumberstime

How it's used

Beyond indicating numerical order, this word is frequently used to describe the top priority or the most important thing. It often appears in the phrase 攞第一 to describe winning or achieving the top spot in a competition or exam. When used to mean the very beginning of a sequence, it is almost always followed by a noun like 日 or 次.

Examples

keoi5佢hai6係baan1班jap6入min6面haau2考dai6第jat1一㗎。

He ranked first in the class.

nei5你dai6第jat1一jat6日faan1返gung1工gok3覺dak1得dim2點aa3呀？

How do you feel about your first day of work?

Common phrases

dai6第jat1一sau2手

first-hand

dai6第jat1一ming4名

first place

dai6第jat1一si4時gaan3間

at the first opportunity

Common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse this with 頭先, which means just now or a moment ago. While both involve the concept of being first in time, 第一 refers to the ordinal position, whereas 頭先 is a temporal adverb for the immediate past.