両

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See also: 兩 and 两
両 U+4E21, 両
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E21
← 丠
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 丢 →

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

See also

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:

Japanese

Shinjitai

両

Kyūjitai

兩

Kanji

両

(grade 3 “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):

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

From native Japanese roots:

Compounds

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

  • 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

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

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The koro reading appears to be obsolete, superseded by ryō above.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

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

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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