两 liǎng two

源How it came to be

A yoke seen from the front with a collar hanging under each end of the beam. A yoke has two collars because it takes two animals, and that is where the number comes from.

用How it is used

• 'Two' when counting things - 两个 (liǎng ge) two of them, 两点 (liǎng diǎn) two o'clock. Use 两 before a measure word; use 二 (èr) for the bare number and in ordinals/dates.
• So it's 二月 (February) but 两个月 (two months); 第二 (second) never 第两.
• It can also mean 'a couple/a few' loosely - 说两句 (shuō liǎng jù) say a few words.

字Characters built with 两

• 辆 measure word for vehicles
• 俩 two people

词Words with 两

• 两岸liǎng’ànbilateralHSK 6
• 两极liǎngjíthe two polesHSK 6
• 一举两得yìjǔ-liǎngdéliterally one action, two gains (idiom)HSK 7
• 两下子liǎngxiàzia couple of timesHSK 7
• 两口子liǎngkǒuzihusband and wifeHSK 7
• 两手liǎngshǒuone's two handsHSK 7
• 两栖liǎngqīamphibiousHSK 8
• 两翼liǎngyìboth wingsHSK 8

句Example sentences

• 牛有两只角。 Niú yǒu liǎng zhī jiǎo.Cows have two horns.
• 我有两张门票。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng zhāng ménpiào.I've got two tickets.
• 奶奶两年前去世了。 Nǎinai liǎng nián qián qùshì le.My grandmother died two years ago.
• 这两种葡萄本质上没有差别。 Zhè liǎng zhǒng pútao běnzhì shàng méiyǒu chābié.There's no essential difference between the two kinds of grapes.