BeginChinese
every character tells a story
The ancient form
Today

èr · ji6

two

Where it comes from

Two rods: two. The ancient counting board simply became writing. Look closely and the upper stroke is slightly shorter — even in the plainest character, the brush keeps its sense of balance.

A piece of culture

Good things come in pairs
Chinese culture loves two. At New Year, every doorway gets a couplet (对联) — two matching lines of poetry, pasted left and right. At weddings the character for joy is doubled into 囍, "double happiness". Gifts are given in pairs, symmetry rules architecture from courtyard houses to the Forbidden City — and the yin-yang symbol is the philosophy of two made visible: opposites that complete each other.

Use it in a real word

二月
èryuè ·
February — literally "month two"; Chinese months are simply numbered
Learn 二 in the app →

Free, no account, works on any device.

More characters

···