次第
しだい · shidai · JLPT N3 · suffix
circumstances
🪜 次第 = next + ordinal number: what comes next, in sequence
次 means next and 第 is the ordinal marker (as in 第一, number one), so the pair names an order of steps. From there it stretches to how things stand (circumstances) and, after a verb stem, to as soon as: the very next step.
次 — 冫 ice + 欠 yawn/lack
Originally depicted a person (欠) sighing or hesitating, with 二 (later written 冫) marking repetition or a secondary position. The core sense developed from 'second in order' or 'next' into related meanings like 'sequence,' 'time/occurrence,' and 'inferior quality.'
第 — bamboo radical 竹 (⺮) + 弟 'younger brother'
Originally written with 弟, which depicted a cord wound in order around a stake — implying sequence or order. The bamboo radical 竹 was later added (because bamboo strips were used for numbered tallies and documents), giving 第 the meaning of ordinal number, sequence, or rank.