Wiktionary

二

See also: ニ, 𠄞, 𠄟, 𠄠, ゠, and Appendix:Variations of "="
二 U+4E8C, 二
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E8C
← 事
[U+4E8B] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 亍 →
[U+4E8D]
⼆ U+2F06, ⼆
KANGXI RADICAL TWO
← ⼅
[U+2F05] 		Kangxi Radicals ⼇ →
[U+2F07]
㈡ U+3221, ㈡
PARENTHESIZED IDEOGRAPH TWO
← ㈠
[U+3220] 		Enclosed CJK Letters and Months ㈢ →
[U+3222]
㊁ U+3281, ㊁
CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH TWO
← ㊀
[U+3280] 		Enclosed CJK Letters and Months ㊂ →
[U+3282]
Commons:Category
Commons:Category
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Translingual

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Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character

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See images of
Radical 7 二

二 (Kangxi radical 7, 二+0, 2 strokes, cangjie input 一一 (MM), four-corner 10100, composition ⿱一一)

  1. Kangxi radical #7, ⼆.
  2. Shuowen Jiezi radical №479

Derived characters

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Further reading

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Chinese Wikisource has digitized text of the Kangxi Dictionary entry for 二:
[[wikisource:zh:康熙字典/二部/二部#二|二部/二部]]

Wikisource


  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 86, character 1
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 247
  • Dae Jaweon: page 175, character 6
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 2, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+4E8C

Chinese

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simp. and trad.
 二
alternative forms 貳／贰 financial
弍
𠄠

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 二
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming) Libian (compiled in Qing)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts Clerical script
                   
 
j28182
 
j28183
 
j28184
 
j28185
 
j28186
 
j28187
 
j28188
 
j28189
 
j28190
 
j28191
 
j28192
 
j28193
 
j28194
 
j28195
 
j28196
 
j28197
 
j28198
 
j28199
 
b18613
 
b18614
 
b18615
 
b18616
 
b18617
 
b18618
 
b18619
 
b18620
 
b18621
 
b18622
 
b18623
 
b18624
 
b18625
 
b18626
 
b18627
 
b18628
 
b18629
 
b18630
 
b18631
 
b18632
 
b18633
 
s10124
Transcribed ancient scripts
 
L19175
 
L19176
 
L19177
 
L19178
 
L19179
References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (二) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
膩 *nis
二 *njis
弍 *njis
貳 *njis
樲 *njis

Ideogram (指事) - two parallel strokes. Compare with 一, one stroke meaning one, 三, three strokes meaning three, and 亖 (sì), four strokes meaning four. Duplication of 一 (“one”).

Etymology

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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s. Cognate to Tibetan གཉིས (gnyis), Sikkimese ཉི (nyi), Tangut 𗍫 (*njɨ̱¹), Burmese နှစ် (hnac), and Nuosu ꑍ (nyip). See also: 次 (OC *sn̥ʰis, “second; next”), a cognate within Chinese languages.

Pronunciation

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Note: no6 - semantic (substitute for 兩／两).
Note:
  • gni, 6n (Deqing) - colloquial;
  • er, 6loe (Chongming), 6gheu (Haining) - literary;
  • lian - alternative, from 兩／两, chiefly younger speakers in Shanghainese.
Rime
Character 二
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 日 (38)
Final (韻) 脂 (15)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 而至切
Baxter nyijH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ȵiɪH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ȵiH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ȵʑjɪH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ȵiH/
Li
Rong 		/ȵiH/
Wang
Li 		/ȵʑiH/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/ȵʑiH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		èr
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		ji6
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 二
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		èr
Middle
Chinese 		‹ nyijH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*ni[j]-s/
English two

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 二
Reading # 1/1
No. 2824
Phonetic
component 		二
Rime
group 		脂
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		二
Old
Chinese 		/*njis/

Definitions

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二

  1. two
    二號線／二号线  ―  èr hào xiàn  ―  line no. 2
  2. second
    二哥  ―  èrgē  ―  second elder brother
  3. † secondary, vice-
  4. † again, once more
  5. † two-fold, double
  6. † fold, times
  7. † different; other, else
    二意  ―  èryì  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    二心  ―  èrxīn  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  8. (handwritten, dated, now informal) An iteration mark denoting the repetition of the previous hanzi; often written at a smaller size when used for this purpose.
    Alternative forms: 𠄠 (èr), 𖿣
    Synonyms: 々, 〻
  9. Short for "twenty, two hundred or two thousand" after hundreds, thousands and ten thousands.
    ※ Such a definition of a number results from a number's being used without a unit after a quantity with both a value (exists even if hidden) and a unit to indicate the quantity with the value being the number and the unit one grade lower. So does the next definition.
    百二 [Cantonese]  ―  baak3 ji6 [Jyutping]  ―  one hundred twenty
    百二 [Hokkien]  ―  pah jī [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  one hundred twenty
    買電腦花了一千二。 [MSC, trad.]
    买电脑花了一千二。 [MSC, simp.]
    Mǎi diànnǎo huā le yī qiān èr. [Pinyin]
    Buying the computer cost me a thousand and two hundred bucks.
  10. Short for "twenty cents".
    黃瓜一塊二一斤。 [MSC, trad.]
    黄瓜一块二一斤。 [MSC, simp.]
    Huángguā yī kuài èr yī jīn. [Pinyin]
    The cucumbers are one dollar twenty per half kilogram.
  11. (dialectal Mandarin) stupid, dumb; silly, thick, lacking mental agility (often in a cute way)
    你這人怎麼這麼二！ [MSC, trad.]
    你这人怎么这么二！ [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ zhè rén zěnme zhème èr! [Pinyin]
    Why are you so incorrigibly stupid!
  12. (Hong Kong Cantonese, school slang) to obtain a level two in a subject in DSE (exam) (usually implies failing the subject)
    我中文二咗，入唔到U。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
    ngo5 zung1 man4-2 ji6 zo2, jap6 m4 dou3 ju1. [Jyutping]
    I got a level two in Chinese, can't get into university.
  13. (Classical) Alternative form of 貳／贰 (èr); usually limited to the simplified script
    不二过  ―  bù'èrguò  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Usage notes

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See 兩 - Usage notes.

Synonyms

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  • (dialectal or used in counting) 兩／两 (liǎng)

See also

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Chinese numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 102 103 104 106 108 1012
Normal
(小寫／小写) 		〇, 零, 空 一, 蜀 二, 兩／两 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 萬／万,
十千 (Malaysia, Singapore) 		百萬／百万,
桶(Philippines),
面桶 (Philippines) 		億／亿 兆 (Taiwan)
萬億／万亿 (Mainland China)
Financial
(大寫／大写) 		零 壹 貳／贰 參／叁 肆 伍 陸／陆 柒 捌 玖 拾 佰 仟
Playing cards in Mandarin · 撲克牌／扑克牌 (pūkèpái) (layout · text)
             
尖兒／尖儿 (jiānr) 二 (èr) 三 (sān) 四 (sì) 五 (wǔ) 六 (liù) 七 (qī)
             
八 (bā) 九 (jiǔ) 十 (shí) 鉤兒／钩儿 (gōur) 圈兒／圈儿 (quānr), 皮蛋 (pídàn, regional) K 小王 (xiǎowáng, black), 大王 (red),
小鬼 (xiǎoguǐ, black), 大鬼 (dàguǐ, red)

Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (二):
  • → Japanese: 二(に) (ni)
  • → Korean: 이(二) (i)
  • → Vietnamese: nhị (二)

Others:

Japanese

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Kanji

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二

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Alternative forms

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  • 弐 (financial or formal)

Readings

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Compounds

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Derived terms

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
二
に
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 二 (ȵiɪH, “two”). Compare modern Eastern Min reading nê.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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二(に) • (ni) 

  1. two, 2
  2. second
    二(に)兎(と)を追(お)う者(もの)は一兎(いっと)をも得(え)ず
    nito o ou mono wa itto o mo ezu
    focus on one thing at a time (literally, “one who chases two rabbits catches neither one”)
    二(に)の足(あし)を踏(ふ)む
    ni no ashi o fumu
    hesitate; think twice (literally, “step on two feet”)
    二(に)階(かい)から目(め)薬(ぐすり)
    nikai kara megusuri
    trying to do an impossible task (literally, “(taking) eye medicine from the second floor”)

Numeral

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Japanese cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : 二

二(に) • (ni) 

  1. two, 2

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
二
ふた
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Originally /huta/: *[puta] > [ɸuta]. The ablaut form of 一 (hito2, “one”), which it doubles.

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *puta. Cognate with Japanese 双(ふた) (futa).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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二(ふた) • (futa) 

  1. two
Coordinate terms
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Japanese numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Regular 零(れい) (rei)
零(ゼロ) (zero) 		一(いち) (ichi) 二(に) (ni) 三(さん) (san) 四(よん) (yon)
四(し) (shi) 		五(ご) (go) 六(ろく) (roku) 七(なな) (nana)
七(しち) (shichi) 		八(はち) (hachi) 九(きゅう) (kyū)
九(く) (ku) 		十(じゅう) (jū)
Formal 壱(いち) (ichi) 弐(に) (ni) 参(さん) (san) 拾(じゅう) (jū)
90 100 300 600 800 1,000 3,000 8,000 10,000 100,000,000
Regular 九(きゅう)十(じゅう) (kyūjū) 百(ひゃく) (hyaku)
一(いっ)百(ぴゃく) (ippyaku) 		三(さん)百(びゃく) (sanbyaku) 六(ろっ)百(ぴゃく) (roppyaku) 八(はっ)百(ぴゃく) (happyaku) 千(せん) (sen)
一(いっ)千(せん) (issen) 		三(さん)千(ぜん) (sanzen) 八(はっ)千(せん) (hassen) 一(いち)万(まん) (ichiman) 一(いち)億(おく) (ichioku)
Formal 一(いち)萬(まん) (ichiman)
1012 8×1012 1013 1016 6×1016 8×1016 1017 1018
一(いっ)兆(ちょう) (itchō) 八(はっ)兆(ちょう) (hatchō) 十(じゅっ)兆(ちょう) (jutchō) 一(いっ)京(けい) (ikkei) 六(ろっ)京(けい) (rokkei) 八(はっ)京(けい) (hakkei) 十(じゅっ)京(けい) (jukkei) 百(ひゃっ)京(けい) (hyakkei)

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
二
アル
Grade: 1
tōon

Borrowing from Mandarin 二 (èr).

Pronunciation

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Numeral

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二(アル) • (aru) 

  1. two, 2
Coordinate terms
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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Korean numbers (edit)
20
 ←  1 2 3  → 
    Native isol.: 둘 (dul)
    Native attr.: 두 (du)
    Sino-Korean: 이 (i)
    Hanja: 二
    Ordinal: 둘째 (duljjae)

From Middle Chinese 二 (MC nyijH).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᅀᅵᆼ〮 (Yale: zí)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[1] 두〯 (Yale: twǔ) ᅀᅵ〯 (Yale: zǐ)
Gwangju Cheonjamun, 1575 두 (Yale: twu) 이 (Yale: i)

Pronunciation

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  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [i(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [이(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

二 (eumhun 두 이 (du i))

  1. hanja form? of 이 (“two”)

Compounds

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Compounds

References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

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Han character

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二: Hán Việt readings: nhị[1][2][3]
二: Nôm readings: nhì[1][2][3], nhị[2][3][4], nhẹ[1]

  1. chữ Hán form of nhị (“two”).
  2. Nôm form of nhì (“second”).

Compounds

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nguyễn (2014).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Trần (2004).
  4. ^ Hồ (1976).

Zhuang

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Numeral

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二

  1. Sawndip form of ngeih

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