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两liǎngtwo

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

两 (liǎng) means "two" or "both" when you count things with a measure word, as in 两个 ("two items") or 两天 ("two days"). Use it for quantity before measures; the digit and ordinal "two" usually take 二 instead of 两.

What does 两 mean?

  1. 1.

    twonumeral

  2. 2.

    both; some; a fewnumeral

What does the character 两 mean?

  • 两two

How do you use 两?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    两 + Measure Word + Noun

    Use 两 (not bare 二) when stating a quantity of two with a measure word.

两 pairs with measure words for "two of something"; for phone digits, counting to ten, or ordinals like 第二, learners usually use 二.

Patterns

  • 两 + 个 + Noun

    我有两个孩子。

    Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè hái zi.

    I have two children.

  • 两 + 天 / 次 / 点

    我们去两天。

    Wǒmen qù liǎng tiān.

    We're going for two days.

What are some examples of 两 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    我有两个孩子。

    Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè háizi.

    I have two children.

  2. HSK 1

    我们去两天。

    Wǒmen qù liǎng tiān.

    We're going for two days.

  3. HSK 2

    我去过两次。

    Wǒ qù guo liǎng cì.

    I've been there twice.

  4. HSK 1

    两个都要。

    Liǎng gè dōu yào.

    I want both of them.

How is 两 different from 二?

两 is for quantity with measure words (两个, 两天). 二 is for the digit "2," counting, and ordinals (第二, 二月). Before a bare measure word for "two of X," use 两, not 二.

Only 两 fits here

我有两个孩子。

Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè hái zi.

I have two children.

How is 两 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你家有几个孩子？

    Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ gè háizi?

    How many children are in your family?

  2. Speaker B:

    我有两个孩子。

    Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè háizi.

    I have two children.

  3. Speaker A:

    你们去几天？

    Nǐmen qù jǐ tiān?

    How many days are you going for?

  4. Speaker B:

    我们去两天。

    Wǒmen qù liǎng tiān.

    We're going for two days.

  5. Speaker A:

    你要哪个？

    Nǐ yào nǎge?

    Which one do you want?

  6. Speaker B:

    两个都要。

    Liǎng gè dōu yào.

    I want both.

Can you use 两 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 我有___个孩子。
  2. 2.Which means "We're going for two days"?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: ___个都要。

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.