What are ordinal numbers?

Ordinal numbers tell us where something is in order, like first, second, third, they're like the positions in a race or the steps you take when climbing stairs.

Imagine you and your friends are lining up for ice cream. The person who gets to stand at the front of the line is first. The next one is second, and so on. These are ordinal numbers, they help us know who comes before, after, or in the middle.

Think of stairs: when you climb them, you start with step 1, then go to step 2, then step 3, each one tells you where you are in the journey up. Ordinal numbers work just like that!

You might also see them on a scoreboard or when you're counting how many people have arrived at a party, they help us know who came first, second, third, and so on.

So next time you line up for something fun or count steps as you go up the stairs, remember: ordinal numbers are just special labels that tell us where we stand in order.