두

두 U+B450, 두 HANGUL SYLLABLE DU Composition: ㄷ + ㅜ ← 둏 [U+B44F] Hangul Syllables 둑 → [U+B451]

두둑둒둓둔둕둖 둗둘둙둚둛둜둝 둞둟둠둡둢둣둤 둥둦둧둨둩둪둫
됴 ←	→ 둬

Jeju

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tu/

Numeral

두 (du)

1. two

References

• “두” in Jeju's culture and language, Digital museum.

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 두〯 (Yale: twǔ).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tu(ː)]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [두(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	du
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	du
McCune–Reischauer?	tu
Yale Romanization?	twū

Numeral

Korean numbers ^(edit)

	20
←  1	2	3  → [a], [b], [c]
Native isol.: 둘 (dul)     Native attr.: 두 (du)     Sino-Korean: 이 (i)     Hanja: 二     Ordinal: 둘째 (duljjae)

두 • (du)

1. two (as a determiner before a noun or classifier)

   두 여자가 상자들을 나르고 있다.

   Du yeoja-ga sangja-deur-eul nareugo itda.

   Two women are carrying boxes.

   오늘, 난 그 가게에 두 번 다녀왔어.

   Oneul, nan geu gage-e du beon danyeowasseo.

   I have been to the shop twice today.

Usage notes

In modern Korean, numbers are usually written in Arabic numerals.

The Korean language has two sets of numerals: a native set of numerals inherited from Old Korean, and a Sino-Korean set which was borrowed from Middle Chinese in the first millennium C.E.

Native classifiers take native numerals.

• 개 한 마리 (gae han mari, “one dog”, native numeral)
• 나무 두 그루 (namu du geuru, “two trees”, native numeral)

Some Sino-Korean classifiers take native numerals, others take Sino-Korean numerals, while yet others take both.

• 종이 두 장(張) (jong'i du jang, “two sheets of paper”, native numeral)
• 이 분(分) (i bun, “two minutes”, Sino-Korean numeral)
• 서른/삼십 명(名) (seoreun/samsip myeong, “thirty people”, both sets possible)

Recently loaned classifiers generally take Sino-Korean numerals.

• 일 킬로미터 (il killomiteo, “one kilometer”, Sino-Korean numeral)

For many terms, a native numeral has a quantifying sense, whereas a Sino-Korean numeral has a sense of labeling.

• 세 반(班) (se ban, “three school classes”, native numeral)
• 삼 반(班) (sam ban, “Class Number Three”, Sino-Korean numeral)

When used in isolation, native numerals refer to objects of that number and are used in counting and quantifying, whereas Sino-Korean numerals refer to the numbers in a more mathematical sense.

• 하나만 더 주세요 (hana-man deo juse-yo, “Could you give me just one more, please”, native numeral)
• 일 더하기 일은? (il deohagi ir-eun?, “What's one plus one?”, Sino-Korean numeral)

While older stages of Korean had native numerals up to the thousands, native numerals currently exist only up to ninety-nine, and Sino-Korean is used for all higher numbers. There is also a tendency—particularly among younger speakers—to uniformly use Sino-Korean numerals for the higher tens as well, so that native numerals such as 일흔 (ilheun, “seventy”) or 아흔 (aheun, “ninety”) are becoming less common.

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 頭.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tu]

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Phonetic hangul: [두]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	du
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	du
McCune–Reischauer?	tu
Yale Romanization?	twu

Noun

두 • (du) (hanja 頭)

1. (in certain expressions) head

   Synonym: 머리 (meori)

   아이고 두야! (uttered during a headache) ― Aigo du-ya! (literally, “Oh, my head!”)

Counter

두 • (du) (hanja 頭)

1. Counter for animals, usually cattle: "head"

   Synonym: 마리 (mari)

Derived terms

• See the hanja entry at 頭 for Sino-Korean compounds of 두 (頭, du).