最 and 第 — the most, and first, second, third

Choosing the best phone

• You compare three phones in a shop. One is the cheapest, and it is the first one on the shelf.
• first第一dì yī(measure word)个gecell phone手机shǒu jīmost最zuìcheap便宜pián yi。 — "The first phone is the cheapest."

most最zuì + adjective: the most

• most最zuì before an adjective or a liking verb means "the most": most最zuìcheap便宜pián yi, cheapest; best最好zuì hǎo, best; I我wǒmost最zuìlike喜欢xǐhuanapple苹果píngguǒ, I like apples most.
• most最zuì picks one out of a group. You do not need than / compared to比bǐ when you use it.

I我wǒmost最zuìlike喜欢xǐhuanapple苹果píngguǒ。

(prefix indicating ordinal…第dì + number: ordinal numbers

• (prefix indicating ordinal…第dì before a number makes an order word: first第一dì yī, first; second第二dì èr, second; 第三天dì sān tiān, the third day.
• Keep the measure word before the noun: second第二dì èr(measure word)个gestudent学生xuésheng, the second student; 第三dì sān本书běn shū, the third book.

second第二dì èr(measure word)个gestudent学生xuésheng。

Putting them together

• he / him他tāto be / is是shìwe / us我们wǒ menteam班bānfirst第一dì yī(measure word)个geto come来lái(modifier / structural particle)的de。 — "He was the first one in our class to come."
• this这zhèto be / is是shìI我wǒthe first time第一次dì yī cìto come来láiBeijing, capital of the…北京běi jīng。 — "This is my first time in Beijing." the first time第一次dì yī cì means "the first time".

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