How to Say "Fifth" in Japanese

5番目

gobanme

The Japanese way to say 'fifth' is 5番目 (gobanme).

5番目 is the ordinal form of the number 5, used to indicate a position in a sequence or a ranking.

Meaning: Ordinal form of the number 5 (adj)

Which one should you use?

Use 5番目 for positions in a sequence or ranking, whereas 五度 is used specifically for the musical interval of a fifth.

The suffix -me (目) is what transforms a cardinal number into an ordinal number.

gobanme

While 5番目 marks a sequence, the character 番 (ban) originally referred to taking turns or shifts. This reflects a cultural history of organizing labor and guard duties by numbered rotations.
When identifying the 'fifth' child in a family, Japanese uses specific gendered terms like 五男 for a fifth son or 五女 for a fifth daughter.
In traditional Japanese counting, the 'fifth' day of the fifth lunar month is celebrated as the Children's Day festival. Historically, this was known as 端午の節句 (Tango no Sekku), specifically honoring boys.

ブラジルは世界で5番目に大きな国である。
Brazil is the fifth biggest country in the world.
This sentence shows how to use 5番目 when describing a country's rank in size.
Tatoeba #2686938 by tommy_san, translation #2692525 by WestofEden
彼は5番目に速い選手だ。
Kare wa go-banme ni hayai senshu da.
He is the fifth fastest athlete.
5番目の曲が一番好きです。
Go-banme no kyoku ga ichiban suki desu.
I like the fifth song the best.

Two friends are discussing the order of a race.

結衣 Yui

陽太くんは、何番目にゴールしたの？
Youta-kun wa, nan-banme ni gooru shita no?
Youta, what position did you finish in?
陽太 Yota

5番目にゴールしたよ。
Go-banme ni gooru shita yo.
I finished fifth.
結衣 Yui

すごいね、おめでとう！
Sugoi ne, omedetou!
That's amazing, congratulations!
陽太 Yota

ありがとう、結衣。
Arigatou, Yui.
Thanks, Yui.

Sources

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