selectOrdinal

selectOrdinal is the Core Macro for ICU ordinal-selection messages. There is also a Component Macro form of the same logic, SelectOrdinal.

Use it when the message depends on ordinal categories like 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. It can be used directly to produce a translated string, or embedded inside a t`...` template literal when the ordinal belongs to a larger message.

For the framework-agnostic Lingui semantics, see the official selectOrdinal reference.

Source

Demo.svelte Catalog

<p>
  {$selectOrdinal(place, {
    one: "#st",
    two: "#nd",
    few: "#rd",
    other: "#th",
  })}
</p>

#: src/demos/macros/select-ordinal/Demo.svelte
msgid "{place, selectordinal, one {#st} two {#nd} few {#rd} other {#th}}"
msgstr "{place, selectordinal, one {#st} two {#nd} few {#rd} other {#th}}"

Result

Preview Transformed Svelte Compiled Catalog

2nd

<p>
  {$__l4s_translate(
  /*i18n*/
  {
    id: "foaSz6",
    values: {
      place: place
    }
  })}
</p>

/*eslint-disable*/
import type { Messages } from "@lingui/core";
export const messages = JSON.parse(
  "{\"foaSz6\":[[\"place\",\"selectordinal\",{\"one\":[\"#\",\"st\"],\"two\":[\"#\",\"nd\"],\"few\":[\"#\",\"rd\"],\"other\":[\"#\",\"th\"]}]]}",
) as Messages;

Locale

EN JA

Place

Usage

Svelte

<script lang="ts">
  import { selectOrdinal, t } from "lingui-for-svelte/macro";

  let place = $state(2);
</script>

<!-- Standalone: produces the ordinal string directly. -->
<p>
  {$selectOrdinal(place, {
    one: "#st",
    two: "#nd",
    few: "#rd",
    other: "#th",
  })}
</p>

<!-- Embedded: selectOrdinal is part of a larger translated unit. -->
<p>
  {$t`Ranked ${selectOrdinal(place, {
    one: "#st",
    two: "#nd",
    few: "#rd",
    other: "#th",
  })}`}
</p>

In .svelte files, use $selectOrdinal for reactive standalone use. When nested inside $t`...`, use selectOrdinal without the $ prefix.

See Reactive Macros for the full explanation, including the selectOrdinal.eager escape hatch.

Astro

---
import { selectOrdinal, t } from "lingui-for-astro/macro";

const place = 2;
---

<!-- Standalone: produces the ordinal string directly. -->
<p>
  {
    selectOrdinal(place, {
      one: "#st",
      two: "#nd",
      few: "#rd",
      other: "#th",
    })
  }
</p>

<!-- Embedded: selectOrdinal is part of a larger translated unit. -->
<p>
  {
    t`Ranked ${selectOrdinal(place, {
      one: "#st",
      two: "#nd",
      few: "#rd",
      other: "#th",
    })}`
  }
</p>

Official Lingui

import { selectOrdinal, t } from "@lingui/core/macro";

// Standalone
const label: string = selectOrdinal(place, {
  one: "#st",
  two: "#nd",
  few: "#rd",
  other: "#th",
});

// Embedded
const message: string = t`Ranked ${selectOrdinal(place, {
  one: "#st",
  two: "#nd",
  few: "#rd",
  other: "#th",
})}`;

Exact value match

Use a plain numeric key to match an exact value. Exact matches take precedence over category keys.

selectOrdinal(place, {
  1: "1st",
  2: "2nd",
  3: "3rd",
  other: "#th",
});

The component macro SelectOrdinal expresses the same match with an underscore-prefixed prop (_1="1st"). The function form uses a plain number key; no underscore is needed.

When selectOrdinal is a good fit

• the output depends on ordinal categories
• the function form is easier to read than component props in the current file
• you want descriptor semantics consistent with official Lingui Core