兩
See also: 両 and 两
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Translingual
| Traditional | 兩 |
|---|---|
| Shinjitai | 両 |
| Simplified | 两 |
| Stroke order | |||
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Han character
兩 (Kangxi radical 11, 入+6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 一中月人 (MLBO), four-corner 10227, composition ⿻帀𠓜)
Derived characters
- 倆, 啢, 掚, 緉, 脼, 蜽, 裲, 輛, 魎, 㔝, 䓣, 䠃, 䩫, 𣍷, 𣓈, 𣼣, 𥇑, 𨨄, 𩗾, 𦑅, 𠬙, 𢎏, 𥮩, 𧶪, 𩀝, 𩭫, 𩳮
References
- KangXi: page 126, character 13
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1436
- Dae Jaweon: page 272, character 11
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 24, character 2
- Unihan data for U+5169
- Unihan data for U+F978
Chinese
| trad. | 兩 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp. | 两 | |
| alternative forms | 両 especially “tael” 㒳 𭃂 | |
Glyph origin
| Historical forms of the character 兩 | ||||||||||||||||||
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References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
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Characters in the same phonetic series (兩) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| 倆 | *raŋʔ |
| 兩 | *raŋʔ, *raŋs |
| 脼 | *raŋʔ |
| 緉 | *raŋʔ, *raŋs |
| 蜽 | *raŋʔ |
| 魎 | *raŋʔ |
| 輛 | *raŋs |
According to Shuowen Jiezi an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 一 + 㒳. Baxter (1992) observes that, in historical forms, the character is two 丙 (OC *praŋʔ) joined together; this would make 丙 the phonetic component in a sort of phono-ideogrammic compound (see also Baxter & Sagart (2014)).
Etymology
Unknown. Schuessler (2007) proposes two possible etymologies:
- Borrowing from Kra-Dai; compare Proto-Tai *rawᴬ (“we”) > Thai เรา (rao, “we”), Zhuang raeuz (“we (inclusive)”); Proto-Kam-Sui *hra¹ (“two”) > Southern Kam yac (“two”), Sui xgaz (“two”).
- Cognate with Tibetan སྲང (srang, “balance; scale; weight; unit of weight”).
Derivative: 輛 (OC *raŋs, “chariot”) (literally “that which is paired”, i.e. “a set of wheels”).
Pronunciation 1
Definitions
兩
- two
- 兩隻熱氣球／两只热气球 ― liǎng zhī rèqìqiú ― two hot air balloons
- two (used in radio communications in aviation and by the military)
- some; few
- 你們這兩天真夠辛苦的。 [MSC, trad.]
- Nǐmen zhè liǎng tiān zhēn gòu xīnkǔ de. [Pinyin]
- You've really been working hard the past few days.
你们这两天真够辛苦的。 [MSC, simp.]
- different; distinct
- 兩樣／两样 ― liǎngyàng ― difference
- 我們說的是兩回事。 [MSC, trad.]
- Wǒmen shuō de shì liǎng huí shì. [Pinyin]
- We are talking about different things.
我们说的是两回事。 [MSC, simp.]
- a surname
Usage notes
- In Standard Mandarin, 兩／两 (liǎng) is used when counting things with a measure word, 二 (èr) is used in numbers.
- Examples with 兩／两 (liǎng)
- 兩個人／两个人 ― liǎng ge rén ― two people
- 兩年／两年 ― liǎng nián ― two years
- 兩百／两百 ― liǎng bǎi ― two hundred
- 兩千／两千 ― liǎng qiān ― two thousand
- Examples with 二 (èr)
- 二十 ― èrshí ― twenty (literally, “two tens”)
- 二百 ― èr bǎi ― two hundred
- 第二 ― dì'èr ― second
- But not *二個人
- Examples with 兩／两 (liǎng)
Synonyms
- 二 (èr, “two”)
Compounds
Derived terms from 兩
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Pronunciation 2
Definitions
兩
- tael (a traditional unit of weight)
- (Mainland China) Short for 市兩／市两 (shìliǎng, “market tael, equal to 1/10 of a catty or 50 grams”).
- (Hong Kong) equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.7994 grams
- (Taiwan) Short for 臺兩／台两 (“Taiwanese tael, equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.5 grams”).
- (historical) metal currency unit used in China and Japan
- Short for 公兩／公两 (gōngliǎng, “hectogram”).
Usage notes
- In older literature, using 両 for "tael" and 兩／两 for "two" can be seen.
- The variant form 𭃂 is commonly found in shop signs displaying prices.
Compounds
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Pronunciation 3
Definitions
兩
- Original form of 輛／辆 (liàng).
- 之子于歸，百兩御之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zhīzǐ yúguī, bǎi liàng yù zhī. [Pinyin]
- This young lady is going to her future home;
A hundred carriages are meeting her.
之子于归，百两御之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation 4
| For pronunciation and definitions of 兩 – see 魎 (“a kind of monster”). (This character, 兩, is a variant form of 魎.) |
Compounds
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Descendants
Sino-Xenic (兩):
- → Japanese: 両 (ryō); 両 (ryan)
- → Korean: 량(兩) (ryang)
- → Vietnamese: lưỡng (兩), lượng (兩)
Others:
- ⇒ Wutunhua: liangge (“two”), -liangge (“with”)
- → Vietnamese: lạng (兩, “tael; hectogram”)
Further reading
- “Entry #3599”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
Japanese
Shinjitai | 両 |
Kyūjitai | 兩 |
Kanji
兩
(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 両)
- both
Readings
- Go-on: りょう (ryō)←りやう (ryau, historical)
- Kan-on: りょう (ryō)←りやう (ryau, historical)
- Tō-on: りゃん (ryan)
- Kun: ころ (koro, 兩); ふたつ (futatsu, 兩つ); もろ (moro, 兩)
Alternative forms
- 两 (also kyūjitai)
Korean
Hanja
兩 (eumhun 두 량 (du ryang), South Korea 두 양 (du yang))
- Hanja form? of 량 (“both”).
Compounds
- 양반 (兩班, yangban, “(historical) yangban class in Korea”)
- 양성 (兩性, yangseong, “both sexes”)
- 양서류 (兩棲類, yangseoryu, “amphibian”)
Hanja
兩 (eumhun 냥 냥 (nyang nyang), South Korea 냥 양 (nyang yang))
- Hanja form? of 냥 (“(archaic) (units of measure) a liang or tael, a unit of weight equivalent to about 40 g”).
- Hanja form? of 냥 (“(archaic) (units of coinage) a nyang”).
Vietnamese
Han character
兩: Hán Nôm readings: lưỡng[1][2][3][4][5][6], lượng[1][2][4][5][6], lạng[1][2][3][5][6][7]
- Nôm form of lạng (“tael (unit of weight equal to 37.8 grams)”).
- chữ Hán form of lượng (“tael”).
- chữ Hán form of lưỡng (“two, both”).
References
- Génibrel (1898).
- Bonet (1899).
- Thiều Chửu (1942).
- Nguyễn (1974).
- Trần (1999).
- Nguyễn et al. (2009).
- Hồ (1976).