两兩 liǎng — two (before a measure word)
liǎng (third tone, dipping)liang3
Traditional: 兩
two (before a measure word)
HSK 2· HSK 1–4 (classic)Level 2· Three-band, nine-level standardnumeral
Meanings
two (before a measure word)
The number two when you are counting things: 两个人, 两本书, 两个小时. 二 is for reciting numbers, for ordinals and inside larger numbers such as 十二.
numeral
Example sentences
- 我有两个哥哥。我有兩個哥哥。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) yǒu (third tone, dipping) liǎng (third tone, dipping) ge (neutral tone) gēge. (first tone, high and level)···
I have two older brothers.
- 我们等了两个小时。我們等了兩個小時。Wǒmen (third tone, dipping) děngle (third tone, dipping) liǎng (third tone, dipping) ge (neutral tone) xiǎoshí. (third tone, dipping)···
We waited two hours.
Common mistakes
Not quite二个人
Correct两个人
Before a measure word, "two" is 两, never 二. Keep 二 for counting aloud (一, 二, 三), for 第二, and inside numbers like 十二 and 二十.