Question 1

What does 二 mean in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

二 (èr) is the cardinal number 'two' in Mandarin. It's used for counting (一二三 yī èr sān), in phone numbers, room numbers, dates (二月 'February,' 二号 'the second'), and inside larger numbers (二十 'twenty,' 一百二十 'one hundred twenty'). The catch for learners: when 'two' is followed by a measure word and means 'two of something,' Chinese switches to 两 (liǎng). So 'two people' is 两个人 (liǎng ge rén), NOT 二个人. 二 stays put for ordinals, math, sequences, and labels. In informal slang, calling someone 二 also means 'silly' or 'naive,' but that meaning is unrelated to counting.

Note: Use 二 for the cardinal number two when counting, in phone numbers, in dates, and as part of larger numbers. Use 两 (liǎng) when 'two' is followed by a measure word — 两个 not 二个.

Question 2

How do you pronounce 二?

Accepted Answer

二 is pronounced èr — 二 (èr).

Question 3

Is 二 a noun, verb, or something else?

Accepted Answer

二 is a number, register: neutral. Use 二 for the cardinal number two when counting, in phone numbers, in dates, and as part of larger numbers. Use 两 (liǎng) when 'two' is followed by a measure word — 两个 not 二个.

Question 4

What's the difference between 二 and 两?

Accepted Answer

Both mean 'two' but they split the work: 二 for math/counting/sequence; 两 for 'two of [thing]' with a measure word. 二楼 (the 2nd floor) but 两层楼 (two floors).

Question 5

What's the difference between 二 and 三?

Accepted Answer

三 ('three') is just one more horizontal stroke than 二. Easy to misread when writing fast.

二

What does 二 mean?

Character breakdown

Example sentences

Common phrases with 二

Synonyms

Don't confuse 二 with

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