number one; the very best; top-notch
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
number one; the very best; the highest, largest, or strongest
Originally derived from the Thousand Character Classic (千字文) where '天' (tiān) is the first character of the first line '天地玄黄'. It was used to label the first item in a sequence, and now metaphorically refers to the top quality or highest rank.
Zhè这
kě可
shì是
tiān天
zì字
dì第
yī一
hào号
de的
dà大
shì事
，
wǒ我
men们
bì必
xū须
quán全
lì力
yǐ以
fù赴
。
This is the number one priority; we must go all out.
Tā他
shì是
wǒ我
men们
tiān天
zì字
dì第
yī一
hào号
de的
dà大
kè客
hù户
，
qiān千
wàn万
bù不
néng能
dé得
zuì罪
。
He is our number one biggest client; we absolutely cannot afford to offend him.
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Zài在
gǔ古
dài代
de的
huò货
dān单
shàng上
，
tiān天
zì字
dì第
yī一
hào号
cháng常
yòng用
lái来
biāo标
jì记
zuì最
hǎo好
de的
huò货
wù物
。
On ancient cargo lists, 'tian zi di yi hao' was often used to label the best goods.
Zhè这
jiā家
cān餐
tīng厅
hào号
chēng称
tiān天
zì字
dì第
yī一
hào号
，
wèi味
dào道
què确
shí实
míng名
bù不
xū虚
chuán传
。
This restaurant claims to be the best of the best, and the taste truly lives up to its reputation.