Korean

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Etymology

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From 번(番) (beon, counter for occurrences) +‎ -째 (-jjae, ordinal suffix).

Compare Japanese 番目 (-banme).

Pronunciation

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Romanizations
Revised Romanization?beonjjae
Revised Romanization (translit.)?beon'jjae
McCune–Reischauer?pŏntchae
Yale Romanization?pen.ccay

Dependent noun

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번째 (beonjjae)

  1. a dependent noun used to express the order or relative position of an object; a construction equivalent to ordinal numbers.
    번째cheot beonjjaefirst
    일곱 번째ilgop beonjjaeseventh

Usage notes

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It is proscribed to have a space between the adjective and 번째, as bound nouns and adjectives must be spaced. However, there is an exception for numerals, so some consider constructions such as 첫번째 to be acceptable, much like 학년 (ohangnyeon, fifth grade).