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二 vs 两: Two Ways to Say ‘Two’
Mandarin has two words for ‘two’. Use 二 to count and 两 to say how many.
Quick answer
二 = the number two, for counting and digits · 两 = two of something, before a measure word
二
two
两个人
two people
Hear the phrase, then repeat it aloud.
When to use it
Use 二 when you count (一、二、三), inside numbers (十二, 二十) and in ordinals (第二). Use 两 before a measure word
to say how many (两个人, 两杯茶), and for two o’clock: 两点.
Common mistake
Saying 二个 or 二杯 for ‘two of something’. When you say how many, two is normally 两: 两个, 两杯.
- Not
我要二杯茶。- Say
- 我要两杯茶。
Practise aloud
我要两杯茶。 I’d like two cups of tea.
现在两点。 It’s two o’clock.
我们班有十二个人。 There are twelve people in our class.
You’ve got this!
In bigger numbers, 二 stays in the tens and units: 十二个人 is twelve people and 二十个人 twenty, but 两个人 is two. Before 百, 千 and 万 you will hear both, and 两 is more common in speech: 两百, 两千. Ordinals keep 二 even before a measure word: 第二个 is ‘the second one’.