What does 天下第一 mean?

天下第一 (tiān xià dì yī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “second to none”.

How do you pronounce 天下第一?

天下第一 is pronounced tiān xià dì yī in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 天下第一 literally mean?

Literally, 天下第一 means “the first under heaven; the greatest under heaven”. It is used to mean “second to none”.

Where does 天下第一 come from?

天下第一 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

天下第一 — “Second to none”

天下第一 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “second to none”. Unequaled; the best in the world. Literally, “the first under heaven; the greatest under heaven”.

Frequency

天下第一 Pronunciation and Pinyin

天tiān
下xià
第dì
一yī

天下第一 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
天	tiān	4	sky, heaven, day, nature
下	xià	3	below, down, next, to descend
第	dì	11	to form ordinal numbers
一	yī	1	one, a, single, whole

Example Sentence with 天下第一

他的厨艺在本地堪称天下第一，无人能及。

His culinary skills are truly second to none in the local area.

Origin and Story of 天下第一

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fa Zhen, son of Prefect Fa Xiong, discovered that Hu Guang was very learned and possessed excellent character. Recognizing him as a rare talent, Fa Zhen recommended Hu Guang to the capital for an imperial examination.

After Emperor An of Han read Hu Guang's writings, he surprisingly praised them aloud as "the first under heaven." Hu Guang was subsequently appointed as Shangshu Lang (Secretary of the Board of Civil Office),

later becoming Shangshu Pushe (Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office), and gradually rose to become an important minister by the emperor's side.

Idioms Related to 天下第一

Synonyms of 天下第一

gài盖shì世wú无shuāng双unrivaled in the world

Antonyms of 天下第一

bǐ比bǐ比jiē皆shì是can be found everywhere

More idioms starting with 天

Questions about 天下第一

What does 天下第一 mean?: 天下第一 (tiān xià dì yī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “second to none”.
How do you pronounce 天下第一?: 天下第一 is pronounced tiān xià dì yī in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 天下第一 literally mean?: Literally, 天下第一 means “the first under heaven; the greatest under heaven”. It is used to mean “second to none”.
Where does 天下第一 come from?: 天下第一 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 天下第一?: 形容没有人能比得上。

Copy the pinyin for 天下第一 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.