兩

兩 (Kangxi radical 11, 入+6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 一中月人 (MLBO), four-corner 1022₇, composition ⿻帀𠓜)

• 倆, 啢, 掚, 脼, 裲, 緉, 蜽, 䠃, 輛, 䩫, 魎, 㔝, 䓣

• Kangxi Dictionary: 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

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)).

The character could be linked to the original form of 更, which represents two chariots and a whip.

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”).

兩

1. two

   兩隻熱氣球／两只热气球  ―  liǎng zhī rèqìqiú  ―  two hot air balloons

   呢兩塊扒都太生。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   呢两块扒都太生。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ni¹ loeng⁵ faai³ paa¹ dou¹ taai³ saang¹. [Jyutping]

   These two steaks are both too rare.

   一兩三／一两三 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁷iq ⁶lian ¹se [Wugniu]  ―  One, two, three

2. two (used in radio communications in aviation and by the military)
3. some; few

   你們這兩天真夠辛苦的。 [MSC, trad.]
   你们这两天真够辛苦的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐmen zhè liǎng tiān zhēn gòu xīnkǔ de. [Pinyin]

   You've really been working hard the past few days.

4. different; distinct

   兩樣／两样  ―  liǎngyàng  ―  difference

   我們說的是兩回事。 [MSC, trad.]
   我们说的是两回事。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒmen shuō de shì liǎng huí shì. [Pinyin]

   We are talking about different things.

5. a surname

• In many lects, including 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

• Rules may vary from variety to variety.

Use case	Mandarin	Cantonese	Shanghainese
兩個人	+	+	+
兩百	+	-	+
三十兩	-	-	+

• 二 (èr, “two”)

兩

1. tael (a traditional unit of weight)
   1. (Mainland China) short for 市兩／市两 (shìliǎng, “market tael, equal to 1/10 of a catty or 50 grams”)
   2. (Hong Kong) equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.7994 grams
   3. (Taiwan) short for 臺兩／台两 (“Taiwanese tael, equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.5 grams”)
   4. (historical) metal currency unit used in China and Japan
2. short for 公兩／公两 (gōngliǎng, “hectogram”)

• 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.

兩

1. Original form of 輛／辆 (liàng).

   • 之子于歸，百兩御之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     之子于归，百两御之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th 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.

Others:

• ⇒ Wutunhua: liangge (“two”), -liangge (“with”)
• → Vietnamese: lạng (兩, “tael; hectogram”)

• “兩”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Southern Min

• “兩”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.

(Hyōgai kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 両)

1. both

• 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)

• 两 (also kyūjitai)

兩 (eumhun 두 량 (du ryang), word-initial (South Korea) 두 양 (du yang))

1. hanja form^? of 량 (“both”)

• 양반 (兩班, yangban, “(historical) yangban class in Korea”)
• 양성 (兩性, yangseong, “both sexes”)
• 양서류 (兩棲類, yangseoryu, “amphibian”)

兩 (eumhun 냥 냥 (nyang nyang), word-initial (South Korea) 냥 양 (nyang yang))

1. hanja form^? of 냥 (“(archaic) (units of measure) a liang or tael, a unit of weight equivalent to about 40 g”)
2. hanja form^? of 냥 (“(archaic) (units of coinage) a nyang”)

兩: Hán Nôm readings: lưỡng^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}, lượng^{[1][2][4][5][6]}, lạng^{[1][2][3][5][6][7]}

兩

1. chữ Nôm form of lạng
   1. tael (unit of weight equal to 37.8 grams)
   2. hectogram (100 grams)
2. chữ Hán form of lượng (“(chiefly of gold and silver) alternative form of lạng (tael)”)

兩

1. chữ Hán form of lưỡng (“two, both”)