What is the difference between 二 and 两?
二 is the number two when you count, read out numbers or give an order: 一、二、三, 十二, 二十, 第二, phone numbers. 两 means "two of something" and goes in front of a measure word: 两个人, 两本书, 两杯咖啡. With 千, 万 and 亿 both appear, but 两千, 两万 are the everyday choice.
| 二 | counting, digits inside numbers, ordinals: 二, 十二, 二十, 第二, 二楼 |
|---|---|
| 两 | two + measure word: 两个, 两本, 两次; also 两千, 两万 |
二 èr
From the readings on this site
- 你看，一，二，三，都很好写。Look — one, two, and three are all easy to write.HSK 1 · 数字真有趣
- 十和一是十一，十和二是十二。Ten and one make eleven; ten and two make twelve.HSK 1 · 数字真有趣
- 一碗标准的兰州拉面讲究“一清二白三红四绿”：汤清、萝卜白、辣椒红、香菜绿。A proper bowl of Lanzhou noodles follows the rule of "one clear, two white, three red, four green": clear soup, white radish, red chili, green cilantro.HSK 5 · 一碗兰州拉面
两 liǎng
From the readings on this site
- 豆豆两岁了，很爱吃。Doudou is two years old and loves to eat.HSK 1 · 我的狗
- 我们还要了两杯茶。We also ordered two cups of tea.HSK 2 · 点菜
- 中午，我和两个朋友去饭馆吃饭。At noon, my two friends and I went to a restaurant to eat.HSK 2 · 几位