Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 8: 13/22

第一(だいいち)

Start, First (point), Foremost, To begin with

Be careful when combining 第一 with chapter or section numbers (see Structure)

Structure

第一(だいいち)に + Phrase
第一(だいいち) + の + Noun
だいいっ + Noun (Chapter)
Phrase + 第一(だいいち) + だ

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About 第一

第一(だいいち) is an expression in Japanese which may be used either as an adverb, or as a noun. As a noun, it will carry the meaning of 'foremost', or 'most important'. As an adverb, it can mean 'first', or 'above anything'.
To use 第一(だいいち) adverbially, pair it with に. As a noun, it will usually be followed by の (when connecting nouns), or by the auxiliary verb だ, when at the end of a sentence.
  • 第一(だいいち)に彼(かれ)は何(なん)であんな時間(じかん)にここにいたんだ。
    First of all, why was he here at that time?
  • これはここの第一(だいいち)のルールだ。
    This is the number one rule here.
  • お金(かね)よりも健康(けんこう)でいることが第一(だいいち)だ。
    More than money, being healthy is the most important thing.
Occasionally, まず 'first of all' will be paired with 第一(だいいち). This may seem redundant, but is like saying 'the very first' in English.
  • まず第一(だいいち)にこの計画(けいかく)を担当(たんとう)する人(ひと)を決(き)めましょう。
    Firstly, let's pick the person that will be in charge of this plan.
Fun Fact
第(だい) is a kanji that is often translated as 'number'. However, the literal meaning is a bit closer to 'position', as it refers to the place that something has within a sequence of numbers. As such, 第一(だいいち) simply means '1st position'.

Examples

  • 安全(あんぜん)は第一(だいいち)だ。

    Safety first.

  • 筋肉(きんにく)をつけたい場合(ばあい)は筋力(きんりょく)のトレーニングではなくてダイエットを第一(だいいち)にするべきだ。

    If you want to gain muscle, rather than training you should prioritize your diet.

  • 第一(だいいっ)節(せつ)第一(だいいっ)款(かん)検察官(けんさつかん)の義務(ぎむ)等(など)。

    Section 1, Subsection 1, Duties of public prosecutor, etc.

  • ハグ・クラブルールの第一(だいいち)、ハグ・クラブのことを明(あ)かすな。

    The first rule of Hug Club is: you do not talk about Hug Club.

  • 調査(ちょうさ)によると事故(じこ)が起(お)こったまず第一(だいいち)の原因(げんいん)はヒューマンエラーということだ。

    According to the investigation, the foremost reason for accidents is human error.

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第一 – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • MaximizedNOVA

    MaximizedNOVA

    Sorry for necro’ing an old thread. But this grammar has been coming up in my reviews with the special rule:

  • EdBunpro

    EdBunpro

    Good question tbh. I think a common way would be l+tu for an isolated っ, but whether or not that’s faster than typing t+tu then hitting the backspace is probably personal preference. I think Japanese keyboards have a dedicated hotkey for it? Never used one so just speculating, I’d be curious to hear from others as well.

  • MaximizedNOVA

    MaximizedNOVA

    I didn’t realize we were able to do this on romaji input even when utilizing Windows IME! I’d probably input much faster utilizing the latter approach, but it’s really good to know there’s a way to access all of the small characters on IME as well

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