# 第一人者
## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 第 | 一 | 人 | 者 |
| だい Grade: 3 | いち Grade: 1 | にん Grade: 1 | しゃ Grade: 3 |
| goon | goon | goon | on'yomi |
* Alternative spelling
* 第一人者 (kyūjitai)

### Etymology

A surface analysis would suggest that this is a compound of 第一 (daiichi, “first”) + 人者 (ninsha, “person?”). However, there is no such attested term 人者 (ninsha).
Annotated in some sources as a compound of 第一人 (daiichinin, “first or foremost person?”) + 者 (-sha, “person”, suffix). However, there does not appear to be any attested term 第一人 (daiichinin).
Other sources list a pitch accent pattern indicating a compound of 第 (dai-, ordinal prefix) + 一人者 (ichininsha, “first or foremost person?”). However, despite a listing for 一人者 (ichininsha) in the NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary, other monolingual Japanese references do not include any such term.
The term 第一人者 (daiichininsha) is first attested in 1907 as the title of a one-act play. The “best person” sense is not attested until 1918. There was an earlier term 一人 (ichinin, “the best or top in a particular field or area”) arising around 1688, suggesting that the term 第一人者 (daiichininsha) may ultimately be comprised of 第 (dai, ordinal prefix) +‎ 一人 (ichinin, “the best or top in a particular field or area”) +‎ 者 (sha, “person”, suffix), with influence from the term 第一 (daiichi, “first”).

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) だいいちにんしゃ [dáꜜììchíníꜜǹshà] (Atamadaka + Nakadaka – [1]-[3])
* (Tokyo) だいいちにんしゃ [dàííchíníꜜǹshà] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [da̠iːt͡ɕiɲ̟ĩɰ̃ɕa̠]

### Noun

第(だい)一(いち)人(にん)者(しゃ) • (daiichininsha)
* [from 1918] the best or top person, such as the best performer in a company, or a leading expert
** 1986 January 10, Tsurugina, Mai with Katō, Tadashi, “MENU①　幻の料理人 [MENU① The Illusory Cook]”, in ザ・シェフ [The Chef], volume 1 (fiction), Tōkyō: Nihon Bungeisha, →ISBN, page 8:
    今(こん)夜(や)の晩餐(ディナー)は日(に)本(ほん)におけるフランス料(りょう)理(り)の第一人者(だいいちにんしゃ)当(とう)ホテルの下(しも)村(むら)総料理長(グランドシェフ)が腕(うで)に縒(よ)りを掛(か)けて料(りょう)理(り)いたします
       Kon'ya no dinā wa Nihon ni okeru Furansu ryōri no daiichininsha tō hoteru no Shimomura gurando shefu ga ude ni yori o kakete ryōri itashimasu
       The best in Japan at French cuisine, Shimomura, the executive chef of our hotel, will use his best efforts to prepare tonight's dinner.

### See also

* 第一(だいいち) (daiichi, “the first, the foremost”)

### References

* 1 2 3 “第一人者”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ “第一人者”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
* ↑ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ “一人”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ “一人”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months