View source for Ordinal indicator

{{Short description|Character(s) following an ordinal number}}<!-- please do not add "(º,ª) as these are just two of many cases and are not used in English orthography --> 
{{Hatnote|{{char|º}} redirects here. For similar symbols, see [[circle symbol (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Infobox symbol|mark=◌ª {{!}} ◌º|name=Ordinal indicator <br />(feminine {{!}} masculine)
|unicode = {{Plainlist|
* {{Unichar|00AA|Feminine ordinal indicator|html=}}
* {{Unichar|00BA|Masculine ordinal indicator|html=}}
}}
|different from = {{Plainlist|
* {{Unichar|00B0|nlink=Degree sign}}
* {{Unichar|02DA|Ring above|nlink=ring (diacritic)}}
* {{Unichar|030A|combining ring above|nlink=ring (diacritic) |cwith=◌}}
* {{Unichar|1D52|Modifier letter small O|nlink=unicode subscripts and superscripts}}
* {{Unichar|1D3C|Modifier letter capital O|nlink=unicode subscripts and superscripts}}
* {{Unichar|2070|Superscript zero|nlink=unicode subscripts and superscripts}}
* {{Unichar|1D43|Modifier letter small A|nlink=unicode subscripts and superscripts}}
}}
}}{{Bots|deny=AWB}}<!-- The style 1<sup>st</sup> described below is intentional and is different from the style 1st. -->

In written languages, an '''ordinal indicator''' is a [[character (typography)|character]], or group of characters, following a [[Numerical digit|numeral]] denoting that it is an [[Ordinal number (linguistics)|ordinal number]], rather than a [[Names of numbers in English#Cardinal numbers|cardinal number]]. Historically these letters were "elevated terminals", that is to say the last few letters of the full word denoting the ordinal form of the number displayed as a [[superscript]]. Probably originating with [[Latin]] scribes, the character(s) used vary in different languages.

In [[English ordinal numbers|English orthography]], this corresponds to the suffixes ''{{nbh}}st'', ''{{nbh}}nd'', ''{{nbh}}rd'', ''{{nbh}}th'' in written ordinals (represented either on the line ''1st'', ''2nd'', ''3rd'', ''4th'' or as [[subscript and superscript|superscript]] {{notatypo|''1<sup>st</sup>'', ''2<sup>nd</sup>'', ''3<sup>rd</sup>'', ''4<sup>th</sup>''}}). Also commonly encountered in [[Romance languages]] are the superscript or [[Superior letter|superior]] (and often underlined) '''masculine ordinal indicator''', '''{{char|º}}''', and '''feminine ordinal indicator''', '''{{char|ª}}'''. In formal typography, the ordinal indicators {{char|ª}} and {{char|º}} are distinguishable from other characters.<ref name="mstyp">{{cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/fdsspec/lowercase.aspx |title=Microsoft typography—Character design standards |date=9 June 2022 |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |quote=''Note:'' Traditionally in Portuguese the ordinal characters should contain the underline. The underline helps avoid confusion between the masculine ordinal and the degree character. This is important at low resolution, such as the screen, when both characters are very similar in size and shape.}}</ref>

The practice of underlined (or doubly underlined) superscripted abbreviations was common in 19th-century writing (not limited to ordinal indicators in particular, and extant in the [[numero sign]] {{char|№}}), and was found in handwritten English until at least the late 19th century (e.g. ''first'' abbreviated ''{{notatypo|''1<sup><u>st</u></sup>''}}'' or ''1<sup>{{double underline|st}}</sup>'').<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Max Harold Fisch |author2=Christian J. W. Kloesel |date=1989 |chapter=Essay on the Editorial Method |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/writingsofcharle0002peir/page/629 |title=Writings of Charles S. Peirce: 1879–1884 |volume=4 |page=629 |isbn=978-0-2533-7201-7 |quote=Peirce also regularly used the nineteenth-century calligraphic convention of double underlining superscript portions of abbreviations such as M<sup>{{Double underline|r}}</sup> or 1<sup>{{Double underline|st}}</sup>.}}</ref>

==Usage==
In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Galician language|Galician]], the ordinal indicators {{char|º}} and {{char|ª}} are appended to the numeral depending on whether the [[grammatical gender]] is masculine or feminine. The indicator may be given an [[underline]] but this is not ubiquitous. In [[digital typography]], this depends on the font: [[Cambria (typeface)|Cambria]] and [[Calibri]], for example, have underlined ordinal indicators, while most other fonts do not.

Examples of the usage of ordinal indicators in Italian are:
*''{{lang|it|1º, primo}}''; ''{{lang|it|1ª, prima}}'' "first"
*''{{lang|it|2º, secondo}}''; ''{{lang|it|2ª, seconda}}'' "second"
*''{{lang|it|3º, terzo}}''; ''{{lang|it|3ª, terza}}'' "third"
Galician also forms its ordinal numbers this way,<ref>{{cite web|title=Números ordinais e partativos|url=http://wikidog.xunta.es/index.php/Escrita_dos_n%C3%BAmeros#N.C3.BAmeros_ordinais_e_partitivos|website=Wikidog.xunta.es}}</ref> while [[Asturian language|Asturian]] follows a similar system where {{char|ᵘ}} is used for the masculine gender, {{char|ª}} for the feminine gender and {{char|º}} for the neuter gender.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Academia de la Llingua Asturiana|date=2001|url=http://www.academiadelallingua.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Gramatica_Llingua.pdf|title=Gramática de la Llingua Asturiana|lang=ast|isbn=84-8168-310-8|edition=3rd}}</ref>

In Spanish, using the two final letters of the word as it is spelled is not allowed,<ref>{{Citation | url = http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=ordinales | title = Ordinales | publisher = Royal Spanish Academy}}.</ref> except in the cases of ''{{lang|es|primer}}'' (an [[apocope]] of ''{{lang|es|primero}}'') before singular masculine nouns, which is not abbreviated as ''{{lang|es|1.º}}'' but as ''{{lang|es|1.<sup>er</sup>}}'', of ''{{lang|es|tercer}}'' (an apocope of ''{{lang|es|tercero}}'') before singular masculine nouns, which is not abbreviated as ''{{lang |es|3.º}}'' but as ''{{lang |es|3.<sup>er</sup>}}'', and of compound ordinal numbers ending in ''{{lang|es|primer}}'' or ''{{lang|es|tercer}}''. For instance, "twenty-first" is ''{{lang|es|vigésimo primer}}'' before a masculine noun, and its abbreviation is ''{{lang|es|21.<sup>er</sup>}}''. Since none of these words are shortened before feminine nouns, their correct forms for those cases are ''{{lang|es|primera}}'' and ''{{lang |es|tercera}}''. These can be represented as ''{{lang|es|1.ª}}'' and ''{{lang|es|3.ª}}''. As with other abbreviations in Spanish, the ordinal numbers have a period ".", which is placed ''before'' the indicator. Portuguese follows the same method.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://ciberduvidas.iscte-iul.pt/consultorio/perguntas/sobrescritos-sublinhados-em-ordinais/32251 | title = Sobrescritos sublinhados em ordinais | publisher = Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa}}.</ref>
==Origins <span class="anchor" id="Latin"></span>==
The practice of indicating ordinals with superscript suffixes may originate with the practice of writing a superscript ''o'' to indicate a [[Ablative (Latin)|Latin ablative]] in pre-modern [[Scribal abbreviation|scribal practice]]. This ablative [[wikt:desinence|desinence]] happened to be frequently combined with ordinal numerals indicating dates (as in {{lang|la|tertio die}} [written ''{{lang|la|iii<sup>o</sup> die}}''] "on the third day" or in [[Anno Domini]] years, as in {{lang|la|anno millesimo [...] ab incarnatione domini nostri Iesu Christi}} [written {{char|an ͂ M<sup>o</sup> [...] dm ͂i nri ih ͂u xp ͂i}} or similarly] "in the thousandth [...] year after the incarnation of our lord Jesus Christ").{{cn|date=May 2020}}

The usage of terminals in the [[vernacular]] languages of Europe derives from Latin usage, as practised by scribes in monasteries and [[Chancery (medieval office)|chanceries]] before writing in the vernacular became established. The terminal letters used depend on the gender of the item to be ordered and the case in which the ordinal adjective is stated, for example ''{{lang|la|primus dies}}'' ('the first day', nominative case, masculine), but ''{{lang|la|primo die}}'' ('on the first day', ablative case masculine), shown as I<sup>o</sup> or i<sup>o</sup>. As monumental inscriptions often refer to days on which events happened (e.g., "he died on the tenth of June"), the ablative case is generally used: X<sup>o</sup> (''{{lang|la|decimo}}'') with the month stated in the genitive case. Examples:<ref>Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1992, London, pp.28-9</ref>
*I<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|(primo) die Julii}}'' "on the first day of July"
*X<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|decimo}}''
*XX<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|vicensimo}}''
*L<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|quinquagesimo}}''
*C<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|centesimo}}''
*M<sup>o</sup> ''{{lang|la|millesimo}}''

==Design==
{{See also|Superior letters}}
[[File:Ordinal & degree.png|thumb|Comparison between the ordinal indicator (left) and the degree sign (right), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
The masculine ordinal indicator {{char|º}} may be confused with the [[degree sign]] {{char|°}} (U+00B0), which looks very similar and which is provided on the [[QWERTY#Italian|Italian]] and [[QWERTY#Latin America, officially known as Spanish Latinamerican sort|Latin American keyboard layouts]]. It was common in the early days of computers to use the same character for both.{{cn|date=June 2020}} The degree sign is a uniform circle and is never underlined. The masculine ordinal indicator is the shape of a lower-case letter {{char|o}}, and thus may be [[oval]] or [[Ellipse|elliptical]], and may have a varying line thickness.

Ordinal indicators may also be underlined. It is not mandatory in [[Portugal]]<ref>[https://ciberduvidas.iscte-iul.pt/consultorio/perguntas/sobrescritos-sublinhados-em-ordinais/32251 Sobrescritos sublinhados em ordinais], Ciberdúvisas da língua portuguesa</ref> nor in [[Brazil]],<ref>[https://www.abreviar.com.br/numero/ Abreviatura da Palavra Número], Abreviar.com.br</ref><ref>[https://museulinguaportuguesa.org.br/numerais-ordinais/ Numerais ordinais], Museu Língua Portuguesa</ref><ref>[https://www.todoestudo.com.br/portugues/numerais-ordinais Numerais ordinais], Todo Estudo</ref> but it is preferred in some fonts to avoid confusion with the degree sign.<ref name="mstyp" />

{{clear}}
[[File:Ordinal alignment.png|thumb|Alignment of the ordinal indicator (left) and superscript characters (right), in the Portuguese abbreviation {{lang|pt|1.º E.<sup>do</sup>}} (1st floor left), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
Also, the ordinal indicators should be distinguishable from superscript characters. The top of the ordinal indicators (i.e., the top of the elevated letter {{char|a}} and letter {{char|o}}) must be aligned<ref name="mstyp" /> with the [[cap height]] of the font. The alignment of the top of superscripted letters {{char|a}} and {{char|o}} will depend on the font.

{{clear}}
[[File:False & true superscripts.png|thumb|Comparison between ordinal indicator and superscript markup (left) and superscript characters (U+1D48 and U+1D52) (right), in the Portuguese abbreviation {{lang|pt|1.º E.<sup>do</sup>}} (1st floor left), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
The line thickness of the ordinal indicators is always proportional to the line thickness of the other characters of the font. Many fonts just shrink the characters (making them thinner) to draw superscripts.
{{clear}}

==Encoding==
The Romance feminine and masculine ordinal indicators were adopted into the 8-bit [[ECMA-94]] encoding in 1985 and the [[ISO 8859-1]] encoding in 1987 (both based on [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]'s [[Multinational Character Set]] designed for [[VT220]]), at positions 170 (xAA) and 186 (xBA), respectively. ISO 8859-1 was incorporated as the first 256 code points of [[ISO/IEC 10646]] and [[Unicode]] in 1991. The Unicode characters are thus:
* {{unichar|00AA|FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR|html=}}
* {{unichar|00BA|MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR|html=}}

There are [[Unicode subscripts and superscripts|superscript versions of the letters {{angbr|a}} and {{angbr|o}} in Unicode]]; these are different characters and should not be used as ordinal indicators.

The majority of character sets intended to support Galician, Portuguese, and/or Spanish have those two characters encoded in hexadecimal as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Character set !! {{char|ª}} !! {{char|º}}
|-
| [[Multinational Character Set|DEC Multinational]], [[ISO-8859-1]], [[ISO-8859-15]], [[Code page 819|CP 819]], [[Code page 923|CP 923]], [[BraSCII]], [[ISO-8859-1|Commodore Amiga]], [[RISC OS character set|RISC]], [[Code page 1004|CP 1004]], [[WINDOWS-1252|Windows CP 1252]] || AA || BA
|-
| [[Code page 437|IBM CP 437]], IBM CP 860, CP 220, [[Atari ST character set|Atari ST]], [[Code page 850|IBM CP 850]], [[Code page 859|IBM CP 859]], [[Code page 898|IBM CP 898]]|| A6 || A7
|-
| IBM CP 037, IBM CP 256, IBM CP 275, IBM CP 282, IBM CP 283, IBM CP 284, IBM CP 500, [[EBCDIC 831|IBM CP 831]], IBM CP 924, IBM CP 1047, [[EBCDIC 1073|IBM CP 1073]], [[EBCDIC 1078|IBM CP 1078]], IBM CP 1079|| 9A || 9B
|-
| [[ITU T.61|T.61]], [[PostScript Standard Encoding|Adobe Standard]], [[NeXT character set|NextStep Multinational]] || E3 || EB
|-
| [[HP roman8|HP Roman-8]], [[Ventura International character set|Ventura International]] || F9 || FA
|-
| [[Mac OS Roman|MacIntosh Roman]]|| BB || BC 
|-
| [[Wang International Standard Code for Information Interchange|Wang]]|| DC || EC
|-
| [[ABICOMP character set|ABICOMP]]|| DC || DD
|}

==Typing==
{{further|QWERTY|AZERTY|QWERTZ}}
[[QWERTY#Portugal|Portuguese]] and [[QWERTY#Spain, a.k.a. Spanish (International sort)|Spanish]] keyboard layouts are the only ones on which the characters are directly accessible through a dedicated key: {{Key press|º}} for "º" and {{Key press |[[Shift key|Shift]]|º}} for "ª". On other keyboard layouts, these characters are accessible only through a set of keystrokes (see [[Unicode input]]).

==Similar conventions==
* Some languages use [[superior letter]]s as a typographic convention for abbreviations. For example, in pre-20th-century handwritten letters and records, English featured abbreviations like "answ<sup>d</sup>" for "answered"<ref>[https://wardepartmentpapers.org/s/home/page/abbreviations Commonly used abbreviations, Papers of the War Department, 1784-1800]</ref> and "Jo<sup>s</sup>" for "Joseph".<ref>[http://www.genealogyintime.com/dictionaries/list-of-first-name-abbreviations.html First Name Abbreviations]</ref>
* Spanish uses superscript letters and ordinal indicators in some abbreviations,<ref name="dpd">{{cite book |title=Diccionario panhispánico de dudas |publisher=Real Academia Española y Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española |edition=2.ª (versión provisional) |url=https://www.rae.es/dpd/ayuda/abreviaturas |access-date=16 July 2024 |language=es |chapter=Abreviaturas}}</ref> such as ''{{lang|es|V.º B.º}}'' for ''{{lang|es|visto bueno}}'' "approved"; ''{{lang|es|n.º}}'' for ''{{lang|es|número}}'' "number"; ''{{lang|es|D.ª}}'' for ''{{lang|es|doña}}'' (an [[honorific]]); {{lang|es|M.ª}} for {{lang|es|[[Maria (given name)|María]]}} (a [[Spanish name]] frequently used in compounds like {{lang|es|[[José María|José M.ª]]}}); and ''{{lang|es|adm.<sup>ora</sup>}}'' for ''{{lang|es|administradora}}'' "administrator". The superscript characters and indicators are always preceded by a period. Traditionally, they have been underlined, but this is optional and less frequent today. Portuguese forms some abbreviations in the same manner; for example: ''{{lang|pt|Ex.<sup>mo</sup>}}'' for ''{{lang|pt|[[Excelentíssimo]]}}'' (an [[honorific]]), ''{{lang|pt|L.<sup><u>da</u></sup>}}'' for ''{{lang|pt|Limitada}}'' ([[Ltd.]]), and ''{{lang|pt|Sr.ª}}'' for ''{{lang|pt|Senhora}}'' ([[Ms.]]).
* English has borrowed the ''No.'' abbreviation from the [[Romance languages|Romance-language]] word ''{{lang|mis|numero}}'', which itself derives from the Latin word ''{{lang|la|numero}}'', the [[Ablative (Latin)|ablative case]] of the word ''{{lang|la|numerus}}'' "number".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/nox?view=uk|title=no<nowiki>.</nowiki>|website=AskOxford.com Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060317013723/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/nox?view=uk|archive-date=17 March 2006 |url-status=dead|access-date=10 July 2018}}</ref> This is sometimes written as ''N<sup>o</sup>'', with the superscript ''o'' optionally underlined, or sometimes with the ordinal indicator. In this case the ordinal indicator would simply represent the letter ''o'' in ''{{lang|la|numero}}''; see [[numero sign]].
* In English, superscript abbreviations were common.

Sometimes the characters for the ordinal indicators ({{char|º}} and {{char|ª}}) are used for one of these purposes, which may be considered a misuse if other characters are preferred for these contexts.

{{anchor|German|German}}{{anchor|Czech|Czech}}{{anchor|Slovak|Slovak}}
== Ordinal dot ==
[[File:Euskal_Antzerki_Topeketak_2015_Liburuxka.pdf|thumb|A Basque publication for the 33rd ({{lang|eu|XXXIII.}}) Basque Theater Meetings.|alt=A poster showing an illustration of a person with long hair taking off a black top hat. It is labeled "XXXIII. EUSKAL ANTZERKI TOPAKETAK. AZPEITIA, 2015EKO UDAZKENA".]]
In [[basque language|Basque]], [[Serbo-Croatian]], [[czech language|Czech]], [[danish language|Danish]], [[estonian language|Estonian]], [[faroese language|Faroese]], [[finnish language|Finnish]], [[german language|German]], [[hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[latvian language|Latvian]], [[norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[slovak language|Slovak]], [[slovene language|Slovene]], [[turkish language|Turkish]], among other languages,<!--, Swedish(?), ... --> a period or [[full stop]] is written after the numeral. In [[Polish language|Polish]], the period can be omitted if there is no ambiguity whether a given numeral is ordinal or cardinal. The only exceptions are variables in mathematics (''{{lang|pl|k+1-szy}}'' – ''{{lang|pl|(k+1)st}}'').<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/wyraz-n-ty;15467.html |title=wyraz n-ty |website=Poradnia językowa PWN |language=pl}}</ref> Writing out the [[suffix|endings]] for various [[grammatical case|cases]], as sometimes happens in Czech and Slovak, is considered incorrect and uneducated. Should a [[full stop]] follow this dot, it is omitted. 

The Serbian standard of Serbo-Croatian (unlike the Croatian and Bosnian standards) uses the dot in role of the ordinal indicator only past Arabic numerals, while Roman numerals are used without a dot.

There is a problem with autocorrection, mobile editors, etc., which often force a capital initial letter in the word following the ordinal numbers.

==Other suffixes==
=== English ===
{{further|English ordinal numbers}}
* ''-st'' is used with numbers ending in ''1'' (e.g. ''1st'', pronounced ''fir'''st''''')
* ''-nd'' is used with numbers ending in ''2'' (e.g. ''92nd'', pronounced ''ninety-seco'''nd''''')
* ''-rd'' is used with numbers ending in ''3'' (e.g. ''33rd'', pronounced ''thirty-thi'''rd''''')
* As an exception to the above rules, numbers ending with ''11'', ''12'', and ''13'' use ''-th'' (e.g. ''11th'', pronounced ''eleven'''th''''', ''112th'', pronounced ''one hundred [and] {{Not a typo|twelf}}'''th''''')
* ''-th'' is used for all other numbers (e.g. 9th, pronounced ''nin'''th''''').
* One archaic variant uses a singular ''-d'' for numbers ending in 2 or 3 (e.g. ''92d'' or ''33d'')

In 19th-century handwriting, these terminals were often elevated, that is to say written as superscripts (e.g. {{notatypo|2<sup>nd</sup>, 34<sup>th</sup>}}). With the gradual introduction of the [[typewriter]] in the late 19th century, it became common to write them on the baseline in typewritten texts,<ref>e.g. Max Harold Fisch, Christian J. W. Kloesel, "Essay on the Editorial Method", in ''Writings of Charles S. Peirce: 1879-1884'', vol. 4 (1989), [https://archive.org/details/writingsofcharle0002peir/page/629 p. 629]:
"In all MSS in this period, Peirce inscribed "st," "nd," "rd," and "th" in the superscript position: for convenience's sake, they are on the line in typewritten pieces. In published pieces the ordinals are superscripted to conform to Peirce's style; {{notatypo|"2<sup>nd</sup>" and "3<sup>rd</sup>"}} are emended to "2nd" and "3rd". When Peirce typed abbreviated ordinals on the line, these mechanical exceptions attributable to his typewriter have been changed to superscript ordinals."</ref> and this usage even became recommended in certain 20th-century style guides. Thus, the 17th edition of ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' states: "The letters in ordinal numbers should not appear as superscripts (e.g., 122nd not {{notatypo|122<sup>nd</sup>}})", as do the ''[[Bluebook]]''<ref name="TforL"/> and style guides by the ''[[Council of Science Editors]]'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences |first=Victoria E. |last=McMillan |publisher=Bedford / St. Martin's |year=2011 |page=79 |isbn=978-0-3126-4971-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d05qOgVpXMgC&pg=PA79 |access-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> [[Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications|Microsoft]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Microsoft Manual of Style |publisher=Microsoft Press |edition=4th |page=316 |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7356-6979-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifhpFdraIkQC&pg=PT316 |access-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> and [[Yahoo!|Yahoo]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Yahoo! Style Guide |publisher=Macmillan |year=2010 |page=359 |first1=Chris |last1=Barr|last2=Yahoo! |isbn=978-0-3125-6984-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2m9AG-Y2lQC&pg=PT359 |access-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> Two problems are that superscripts are used "most often in citations" and are "tiny and hard to read".<ref name="TforL">{{cite web |title=Typography for Lawyers - Ordinals |first=Matthew|last=Butterick |date=4 October 2012 |url=http://www.typographyforlawyers.com/?page_id=1785 |access-date=4 October 2012|quote=''Bluebook'' rule 6.2(b)(i) (19th ed. 2010)}}</ref> Some [[word processor]]s format ordinal indicators as superscripts by default (e.g. [[Microsoft Word]]<ref>{{Citation | url = http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/automatic-formatting-results-HP005262013.aspx | publisher = Microsoft | series = Office | title = Word Help | contribution = Automatic formatting results}}.</ref>). Style guide author Jack Lynch ([[Rutgers University|Rutgers]]) recommends turning off automatic superscripting of ordinals in [[Microsoft Word]], because "no professionally printed books use superscripts".<ref>{{cite book |title=The English Language: A User's Guide |first=Jack |last=Lynch |date=30 April 2007 |publisher = Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company |isbn=978-1-5851-0185-6 |pages=131,213] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781585101856/page/131}}<br />{{cite web |title=Guide to Grammar and Style — M |first=Jack |last=Lynch |date=28 January 2011 |publisher=Rutgers University |url=http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/m.html#msword |access-date=4 October 2012 |quote=[...] ordinal numbers [...] no professionally printed books use superscripts [...] |archive-date=5 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805154119/http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/m.html#msword |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{anchor|French|French}}
=== French ===
[[French language|French]] uses the ordinal indicators ''{{lang|fr|<sup>er</sup>}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|<sup>re</sup>}}'' for the number 1, depending on gender (masculine ''{{lang|fr|1<sup>er</sup> – premier}}''; feminine ''{{lang|fr|1<sup>re</sup> – première}}'').
It uses ''{{lang|fr|<sup>e</sup>}}'' for higher numbers (for instance ''{{lang|fr|2<sup>e</sup> – deuxième}}'').
French also uses the indicators ''{{lang|fr|<sup>d</sup>}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|<sup>de</sup>}}'' for the alternative second ordinal number (masculine {{lang|fr|2<sup>d</sup> – second}}; feminine {{lang|fr|2<sup>de</sup> – seconde}}).
In plural, all these indicators are suffixed with an ''s'': ''{{lang|fr|<sup>ers</sup>}}'' (''{{lang|fr|1<sup>ers</sup> – premiers}}''), ''{{lang|fr|<sup>res</sup>}}'' (''{{lang|fr|1<sup>res</sup> – premières}}''), ''{{lang|fr|<sup>es</sup>}}'' (''{{lang|fr|2<sup>es</sup> – deuxièmes}}''), ''{{lang|fr|<sup>ds</sup>}}'' (''{{lang|fr|2<sup>ds</sup> – seconds}}''), {{lang|fr|<sup>des</sup>}} (''{{lang|fr|2<sup>des</sup> – secondes}}'').

Although regarded as incorrect by typographic standards, longer forms are in wide usage: ''{{lang|fr|<sup>ère</sup>}}'' for feminine 1 (''{{lang|fr|1<sup>ère</sup> – première}}'')), ''{{lang|fr|<sup>ème</sup>}}'' for numbers starting at 2 (for instance ''{{lang|fr|2<sup>ème</sup> – deuxième}}''), ''{{lang|fr|<sup>nd</sup>}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|<sup>nde</sup>}}'' for the alternative second ordinal number (''{{lang|fr|2<sup>nd</sup> – second}}''; ''{{lang|fr|2<sup>nde</sup> – seconde}}'')

These indicators use superscript formatting whenever it is available.

{{anchor|Catalan}}
=== Catalan ===
The rule in [[Catalan language|Catalan]] is to follow the number with the last letter in the singular and the last two letters in the plural.<ref>{{Citation | chapter = 5. La grafia de les abreviacions | chapter-url = http://www2.iec.cat/institucio/seccions/Filologica/gramatica/ortografia/05Lagrafiadelesabreviacions.pdf | publisher = IEC | title = Gramàtica de la llengua catalana | page = 391}}.</ref> Most numbers follow the pattern exemplified by {{lang|ca|vint}} '20' (''{{lang|ca|20è}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|m|masculine}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|sg|singular}}'', ''{{lang|ca|20a}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|f|feminine}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|sg|singular}}'', ''{{lang|ca|20ns}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|m|masculine}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|pl|plural}}'', ''{{lang|ca|20es}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|f|feminine}}''&nbsp;''{{abbr|pl|plural}}''), but the first few ordinals are irregular, affecting the abbreviations of the masculine forms. Superscripting is not standard.

{{anchor|Dutch}}
=== Dutch ===
Unlike other [[Germanic languages]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is similar to [[English language|English]] in this respect: the French layout with ''{{char|<sup>e</sup>}}'' used to be popular, but [[Dutch orthography|the recent spelling changes]] now prescribe the suffix ''{{lang|nl|‑e}}''. Optionally ''{{lang|nl|‑ste}}'' and ''{{lang|nl|‑de}}'' may be used, but this is more complex: ''{{lang|nl|1ste}}''&nbsp;(''{{lang|nl|eerste}}''), ''{{lang|nl|2de}}''&nbsp;(''{{lang|nl|tweede}}''), ''{{lang|nl|4de}}''&nbsp;(''{{lang|nl|vierde}}''), ''{{lang|nl|20ste}}''&nbsp;(''{{lang|nl|twintigste}}''), etc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/2/1_2_3_1e_2e_3e_1ste_2de_3de_1e_2e_3e/|title = Taaladvies - Taaladvies.net}}</ref>

{{anchor|Finnish}}
=== Finnish ===
In [[Finnish orthography]], when the numeral is followed by its [[Head (linguistics)|head]] noun (which indicates the [[grammatical case]] of the ordinal), it is sufficient to write a period or [[full stop]] after the numeral: ''{{lang|fi|Päädyin kilpailussa '''2. sijalle'''}}'' "In the competition, I finished '''in 2nd place'''". However, if the head noun is omitted, the ordinal indicator takes the form of a [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] suffix, which is attached to the numeral with a [[colon (punctuation)|colon]]. In the [[nominative case]], the suffix is {{lang|fi|‑nen}} for 1 and 2, and {{lang|fi|‑s}} for larger numerals: ''{{lang|fi|Minä olin '''2:nen''', ja veljeni oli '''3:s'''}}'' 'I came '''2nd''', and my brother came '''3rd'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>. This is derived from the endings of the spelled-out ordinal numbers: ''{{lang|fi|ensimmäinen}}'', ''{{lang|fi|toinen}}'', ''{{lang|fi|kolmas}}, {{lang|fi|neljäs}}'', ''{{lang|fi|viides}}'', ''{{lang|fi|kuudes}}'', ''{{lang|fi|seitsemäs}}'', etc..

The system becomes rather complicated when the ordinal needs to be [[inflected]], as the ordinal suffix is adjusted according to the case ending: ''{{lang|fi|3:'''s'''}}'' (nominative case, which has no ending), ''{{lang|fi|3:'''nne'''n}}'' ([[genitive case]] with ending ''{{lang|fi|‑n}}''), ''{{lang|fi|3:'''t'''ta}}'' ([[partitive case]] with ending ''{{lang|fi|‑ta}}''), ''{{lang|fi|3:'''nne'''ssa}}'' ([[inessive case]] with ending ''{{lang|fi|‑ssa}}''), ''{{lang|fi|3:'''nte'''en}}'' ([[illative case]] with ending ''{{lang|fi|‑en}}''), etc.. Even native speakers sometimes find it difficult to exactly identify the ordinal suffix, as its borders with the [[word stem]] and the case ending may appear blurred. In such cases, it may be preferable to write the ordinal word entirely with [[letter (alphabet)|letters]] and particularly ''{{lang|fi|2:nen}}'' is rare even in the nominative case, as it is not significantly shorter than the full word ''{{lang|fi|toinen}}''.

{{anchor|Irish}}
=== Irish ===
Numerals from 3 up form their ordinals uniformly by adding the suffix ''{{lang|ga|-ú}}'': ''{{lang|ga|3ú}}'', ''{{lang|ga|4ú}}'', ''{{lang|ga|5ú}}'', etc. When the ordinal is written out, the suffix adheres to the spelling restrictions imposed by the [[Irish phonology|broad/slender]] difference in consonants and is written ''{{lang|ga|-iú}}'' after slender consonants; but when written as numbers, only the suffix itself (''{{lang|ga|-ú}}'') is written. In the case of 4 (''{{lang|ga|ceathair}}''), the final syllable is [[Syncope (phonetics)|syncopated]] before the suffix, and in the case of 9 (''{{lang|ga|naoi}}''), 20 (''{{lang|ga|fiche}}''), and 1000 (''{{lang|ga|míle}}''), the final vowel is assimilated into the suffix.

Most multiples of ten end in a vowel in their cardinal form and form their ordinal form by adding the suffix to their genitive singular form, which ends in ''{{lang|ga|-d}}''; this is not reflected in writing. Exceptions are 20 (''{{lang|ga|fiche}}'') and 40 (''{{lang|ga|daichead}}''), both of which form their ordinals by adding the suffix directly to the cardinal (''{{lang|ga|fichiú}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|daicheadú}}'').

When counting objects, ''{{lang|ga|dó}}'' (2) becomes ''{{lang|ga|dhá}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|ceathair}}'' (4) becomes ''{{lang|ga|ceithre}}''.

As in French, the vigesimal system is widely used, particularly in people's ages. ''{{lang|ga|Ceithre scór agus cúigdéag}}'' – 95.

The numbers 1 (''{{lang|ga|aon}}'') and 2 (''{{lang|ga|dó}}'') both have two separate ordinals: one regularly formed by adding ''{{lang|ga|-ú}}'' (''{{lang|ga|aonú}}'', ''{{lang|ga|dóú}}''), and one [[Suppletion|suppletive]] form (''{{lang|ga|céad}}'', ''{{lang|ga|dara}}''). The regular forms are restricted in their usage to actual numeric contexts, when counting. The latter are also used in counting, especially ''{{lang|ga|céad}}'', but are used in broader, more abstract senses of "first" and "second" (or "other"). In their broader senses, {{lang|ga|céad}} and {{lang|ga|dara}} are not written as ''{{lang|ga|1ú}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|2ú}}'', though ''{{lang|ga|1ú}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|2ú}}'' may in a numeric context be read aloud as ''{{lang|ga|céad}}'' and ''{{lang|ga|dara}}'' (e.g., ''{{lang|ga|an 21ú lá}}'' may be read as ''{{lang|ga|an t-aonú lá is fiche}}'' or as ''{{lang|ga|an chéad lá is fiche}}'').

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; width:40%;"
|-
|
! scope="col" | Cardinal
! scope="col" | Ordinal
|-
! scope="row" | 1
|{{lang|ga|a h-aon}}
|{{lang|ga|aonú}} ({{lang|ga|1ú}}) or {{lang|ga|céad}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2
|{{lang|ga|a dó}}
|{{lang|ga|dóú}} ({{lang|ga|2ú}}) or {{lang|ga|dara}}
|-
! scope="row" | 3
|{{lang|ga|a trí}}
|{{lang|ga|tríú}} ({{lang|ga|3ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 4
|{{lang|ga|a ceathair}}
|{{lang|ga|ceathrú}} ({{lang|ga|4ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 5
|{{lang|ga|a cúig}}
|{{lang|ga|cúigiú}} ({{lang|ga|5ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 6
|{{lang|ga|a sé}}
|{{lang|ga|séú}} ({{lang|ga|6ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 7
|{{lang|ga|a seacht}}
|{{lang|ga|seachtú}} ({{lang|ga|7ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 8
|{{lang|ga|a hocht}}
|{{lang|ga|ochtú}} ({{lang|ga|8ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 9
|{{lang|ga|a naoi}}
|{{lang|ga|naoú}} ({{lang|ga|9ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 10
|{{lang|ga|a deich}}
|{{lang|ga|deichiú}} ({{lang|ga|10ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 20
|{{lang|ga|fiche}} or {{lang|ga|scór}}
|{{lang|ga|fichiú}} ({{lang|ga|20ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 30
|{{lang|ga|triocha}}
|{{lang|ga|triochadú}} ({{lang|ga|30ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 40
|{{lang|ga|daichead}}, {{lang|ga|ceathracha}} or {{lang|ga|dhá scór}}
|{{lang|ga|daicheadú}} or {{lang|ga|ceathrachadú}} ({{lang|ga|40ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 50
|{{lang|ga|caoga}}
|{{lang|ga|caogadú}} ({{lang|ga|50ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 60
|{{lang|ga|seasca}} or {{lang|ga|trí scór}}
|{{lang|ga|seascadú}} ({{lang|ga|60ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 70
|{{lang|ga|seachtó}}
|{{lang|ga|seachtódú}} ({{lang|ga|70ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 80
|{{lang|ga|ochtó}} or {{lang|ga|ceithre scór}}
|{{lang|ga|ochtódú}} ({{lang|ga|80ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 90
|{{lang|ga|nócha}}
|{{lang|ga|nóchadú}} ({{lang|ga|90ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 100
|{{lang|ga|céad}}
|{{lang|ga|céadú}} ({{lang|ga|100ú}})
|-
! scope="row" | 1000
|{{lang|ga|míle}}
|{{lang|ga|míliú}} ({{lang|ga|1000ú}})
|}

=== Russian ===
{{further|Russian numerals}}
One or two letters of the spelled-out numeral are appended to it (either after a hyphen or, rarely, in superscript). The rule is to take the minimal number of letters that include at least one consonant phoneme. Examples: {{lang|ru|2-му второму}} {{IPA|/ftɐro'''mu'''/}}, {{lang|ru|2-я вторая}} {{IPA|/ftɐra'''ja'''/|lang=ru}}, {{lang|ru|2-й второй}} {{IPA|/ftɐro'''j'''/|lang=ru}} (note that in the second example, the vowel letter {{lang|ru|я}} represents two phonemes, one of which [{{IPA|/j/}}] is ''consonant'').

=== Swedish ===
{{further|Swedish numerals}}
The general rule is that {{lang|sv|:a}} (for 1 and 2) or ''{{lang|sv|:e}}'' (for all other numbers, except ''{{lang|sv|101:a}}'', ''{{lang|sv|42:a}}'', etc., but including ''{{lang|sv|11:e}}'' and ''{{lang|sv|12:e}}'') is appended to the numeral. The reason is that ''{{lang|sv|-a}}'' and ''{{lang|sv|-e}}'' respectively end the ordinal number words. The ordinals for 1 and 2 may however be given an ''{{lang|sv|-e}}'' form (''{{lang|sv|förste}}'' and ''{{lang|sv|andre}}'' instead of ''{{lang|sv|första}}'' and ''{{lang|sv|andra}}'') when used about a male person (masculine natural gender), and if so they are written ''{{lang|sv|1:e}}'' and ''{{lang|sv|2:e}}''. When indicating dates, suffixes are never used. Examples: ''{{lang|sv|1:a klass}}'' "first grade (in elementary school)", ''{{lang|sv|3:e utgåvan}}'' "third edition", but ''{{lang|sv|6 november}}''. Furthermore, suffixes can be left out if the number obviously is an ordinal number, example: ''{{lang|sv|3 utg.}}'' "3rd ed". Using a [[full stop]] as an ordinal indicator is considered [[archaism|archaic]], but still occurs in military contexts; for example: ''{{lang|sv|5. komp}}'' "5th company".

==Representation as prefix==
Numbers in [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] are preceded by the ordinal prefix ''{{lang|ms|ke-}}''; for example, ''{{lang|ms|ke-7}}'' "seventh". The exception is ''{{lang|ms|pertama}}'', which means "first".

Numbers in [[Filipino language|Filipino]] are preceded by the ordinal prefix ''{{lang|fil|ika-}}'' or ''{{lang|fil|pang-}}'' (the latter subject to [[sandhi]]; for example, ''{{lang|fil|ika-7}}'' or ''{{lang|fil|pam-7}}'' "seventh"). The exception is ''{{lang|fil|una}}'', which means "first".

In [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]], an ordinal number is prefixed by {{lang|zh|第}} ''{{lang|zh-Latn|dì}}'' / ''{{lang|ja-Latn|dai}}''; for example: {{lang|zh|第一}} "first", {{lang|zh|第二}} "second".

In [[Korean language|Korean]], an ordinal number is prefixed by {{lang|ko|제}} ''{{lang|ko-Latn|je}}'' or suffixed by {{lang|ko|번째}} ''{{lang|ko-Latn|beonjjae}}''; for example: {{lang|ko|제1}} "first", {{lang|ko|2번째}} "second".

==See also==
* [[Numero sign]]
* [[Superior letter]]

==References==
{{notelist-ua|colwidth=30em}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Citation |url=http://woordenlijst.org/leidraad/6/9/ |language=nl |contribution=number words |title=Woordenlĳst}}.
* [https://msdn.microsoft.com/pt-pt/goglobal/bb964651.aspx Windows keyboard layouts]
* [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201794 Apple keyboard layouts]

{{navbox punctuation}} <!-- and typography -->
[[Category:Typographical symbols]]