兩
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
TranslingualEdit
| Traditional | 兩 |
|---|---|
| Shinjitai | 両 |
| Simplified | 两 |
| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Han characterEdit
兩 (Kangxi radical 11, 入+6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 一中月人 (MLBO), four-corner 10227, composition ⿻帀𠓜)
Derived charactersEdit
ReferencesEdit
- 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
ChineseEdit
| trad. | 兩 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp. | 两 | |
| alternative forms | 両 especially “tael” 㒳 𭃂 | |
Glyph originEdit
| Historical forms of the character 兩 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
References:
Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
|
According to Shuowen Jiezi an ideogrammic compound (會意): 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)).
EtymologyEdit
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 1Edit
DefinitionsEdit
兩
- two
- two (used in radio communications in aviation and by the military)
- some; few
- different; distinct
- a surname
Usage notesEdit
- In Standard Mandarin, 兩／两 (liǎng) is used when counting things with a measure word, 二 (èr) is used in numbers.
SynonymsEdit
- 二 (èr, “two”)
CompoundsEdit
Pronunciation 2Edit
DefinitionsEdit
兩
Usage notesEdit
- 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.
CompoundsEdit
Pronunciation 3Edit
DefinitionsEdit
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 4Edit
| For pronunciation and definitions of 兩 – see 魎 (“a kind of monster”). (This character, 兩, is a variant form of 魎.) |
CompoundsEdit
DescendantsEdit
Others:
Further readingEdit
- “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.
JapaneseEdit
| 両 | |
| 兩 |
KanjiEdit
(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 両)
ReadingsEdit
- 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 formsEdit
- 两 (also kyūjitai)
KoreanEdit
Etymology 1Edit
HanjaEdit
兩 (eumhun 두 량 (du ryang), South Korea 두 양 (du yang))
CompoundsEdit
- 양반 (兩班, yangban, “(historical) yangban class in Korea”)
- 양성 (兩性, yangseong, “both sexes”)
- 양서류 (兩棲類, yangseoryu, “amphibian”)
Etymology 2Edit
HanjaEdit
VietnameseEdit
Han characterEdit
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”).