First, Second, Third

Level 3

Ordinals such as first, second and third use ka or ke and a number.

How It Works

NumberOrdinal
1stka mua
2ndka lua
3rdke kolu
4thka hā
5thka lima

Learners meet two patterns. The first is article, number, o, article and noun: ke kolu o ka lā “the third day”. The second is article, noun and number: ke keiki ʻelua “the second child”. In both, the noun stays singular. A plural noun makes the number a plain count: nā keiki ʻelua “two children”.

Mua has other uses, such as “in front”, so the sentence around it shows whether it means “first”. After the ordinals come the same number words you already know, so ka ʻumi “the tenth” keeps its ʻumi. The ordinals work the same way for school grades, lines in a list and days of the month: ka lā ʻekolu “the third day”.

Examples (4)

  1. ʻO Kala ka mua o nā keiki.

    Kala is the first of the children.

    Mua means first.

  2. ʻO Noelani ka lua o nā keiki.

    Noelani is the second of the children.

    Lua is the number two without ʻe-.

  3. ʻO ke kolu o ka lā kēia ma ka hana.

    This is the third day on the job.

    Ke kolu is the third.

  4. Ke heluhelu nei au i ka puke ʻelua.

    I am reading the second book.

    The number follows a singular noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the plain number one for first.

    ʻO Kala ka ʻekahi o nā keiki.
    ʻO Kala ka mua o nā keiki.

    In this pattern, first is mua, not ʻekahi.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

First, Second, ThirdLevel 3

Learn This First

Ordinals add a word to a number to say first, second and third.

Words in This Pattern

mualuakolukakehālimaʻumi