大一

dàyī

noun

Meanings

1 freshman year of university
2 first-year (undergraduate) student

Characters

big; university (short for 大学)

Examples

我妹妹今年上大一。

Wǒ mèimei jīnnián shàng dàyī.

My little sister is starting her freshman year this year.

大一的课程比较基础。

Dàyī de kèchéng bǐjiào jīchǔ.

Freshman-year courses are fairly basic.

他是北大大一的学生。

Tā shì Běidà dàyī de xuéshēng.

He is a first-year student at Peking University.

Tips

grammar

大 (short for 大学) + year number gives the full undergraduate series: 大一, 大二, 大三, 大四. Used both for the year itself ("in freshman year") and the student ("a freshman"). For grad school the pattern is 研一, 研二, 研三.

Stroke Order

大 dà

一 yī