両

See also: 兩 and 两

両 U+4E21, 両 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E21 ← 丠 [U+4E20] CJK Unified Ideographs 丢 → [U+4E22]

Translingual

Traditional	兩
Shinjitai	両
Simplified	两

Stroke order

Han character

両 (Kangxi radical 1, 一+5, 6 strokes, cangjie input 一山月 (MUB), four-corner 1022₇, composition ⿱一⿻冂山 or ⿻⿱一山冂 or ⿻山⿱一冂)

Derived characters

• 𠈓, 輌

See also

• 満, 𭱩, 𥈞

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 78, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46
• Dae Jaweon: page 157, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 19, character 1
• Unihan data for U+4E21

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 両 – see 兩 (“two; two; etc.”). (This character is the draft (1955) first-round simplified and variant form of 兩).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Japanese

Shinjitai	両
Kyūjitai	兩

Kanji

両

(Third grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 兩)

1. both
2. old Japanese coin
3. two
4. counter for carriages

Readings

From Middle Chinese 兩 (MC ljangX); compare Mandarin 兩／两 (liǎng):

• Go-on: りょう (ryō, Jōyō)^{←りやう (ryau, historical)}
• Kan-on: りょう (ryō, Jōyō)^{←りやう (ryau, historical)}
• Tō-on: りゃん (ryan)

From Middle Chinese 兩 (MC ljangH); compare Mandarin 兩／两 (liàng):

• Go-on: りょう (ryō, Jōyō)^{←りやう (ryau, historical)}
• Kan-on: りょう (ryō, Jōyō)^{←りやう (ryau, historical)}
• Tō-on: りゃん (ryan)

From native Japanese roots:

• Kun: ころ (koro, 両)、ふたたび (futatabi, 両び)、ふたつ (futatsu, 両つ)、もろ (moro, 両)
• Nanori: ふた (futa)、ふる (furu)、もろ (moro)

Compounds

• 車両
• 千両
• 両刃
• 両足
• 両思い
• 両替
• 両側
• 両脚
• 両極
• 両国
• 両者
• 両親
• 両性
• 両生
• 両性説
• 両端
• 両手
• 両方
• 両雄
• 両立
• 両論
• 両脇
• 一両
• 両三
• 両々, 両両
• 両人
• 両便
• 両像
• 両党
• 両全
• 両凸
• 両刀
• 両分
• 両切り
• 両前
• 両口
• 両名
• 両天秤
• 両家
• 両岸
• 両差し
• 両度
• 両建て
• 両得
• 両成敗
• 両損
• 両断
• 両日
• 両棲
• 両様
• 両氏
• 両洋
• 両用
• 両目
• 両眼
• 両社
• 両種
• 両義
• 両翼
• 両耳
• 両肌, 両膚
• 両肘
• 両腕
• 両膝
• 両舌
• 両舷
• 両蓋
• 両虎
• 両袖
• 両軍
• 両輪
• 両部神道
• 両開き
• 両院
• 両陛下
• 両隣
• 両面
• 両頭
• 十両
• 硬軟両派
• 進退両難

 

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
両
りょう Grade: 3
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
兩 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 兩 (MC ljangX, “two, both”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りょー [ryóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲo̞ː]

• This pitch accent only applies when this is used as a standalone noun.

Noun

両(りょう) • (ryō) ^{←りやう (ryau)?}

1. the both of something

   両(りょう)の手(て)で

   ryō no te de

   with both hands

2. a traditional unit of currency

Prefix

両(りょう) • (ryō-) ^{←りやう (ryau-)?}

1. both

Derived terms

• 両(りょう)足(あし) (ryōashi)
• 両(りょう)腕(うで) (ryōude)
• 両(りょう)側(がわ) (ryōgawa)
• 両(りょう)利(き)き (ryōkiki)
• 両(りょう)手(て) (ryōte)
• 両(りょう)隣(どなり) (ryōdonari)
• 両(りょう)耳(みみ) (ryōmimi)
• 両(りょう)目(め) (ryōme)
• 両(りょう)親(しん) (ryōshin)
• 両(りょう)極(きょく) (ryōkyoku)
• 両(りょう)替(がえ) (ryōgae)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
両
ころ Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
兩 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese. Possibly related to root koro in reference to rolling, as in 転ぶ (korobu, “to tumble, to fall; to roll”), ころころ (korokoro, “rollingly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɾo̞]

Counter

両(ころ) • (-koro) 

1. (obsolete) a traditional unit of weight, roughly equivalent to 37.5 grams

Usage notes

The koro reading appears to be obsolete, superseded by ryō above.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
両
りょう Grade: 3
on'yomi

Alternative spellings
兩 (kyūjitai) 輛 輌

Probably from Middle Chinese 輛 (MC *ljangH, “counter for vehicles”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɾʲo̞ː]

Counter

両(りょう) • (-ryō) ^{←りやう (-ryau)?}

1. a car of a train

   この電(でん)車(しゃ)は六(ろく)両(りょう)編(へん)成(せい)です。

   Kono densha wa rokuryō hensei desu.

   This train consists of six cars.

Usage notes

Usually replaces 輛 and extended shinjitai form 輌 in modern usage.

Derived terms

• 車(しゃ)両(りょう) (sharyō)

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN