Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word you have here. The definition of the word will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
U+B450, 두
HANGUL SYLLABLE DU
Composition: +

Hangul Syllables




됴 ←→ 둬

Jeju

Pronunciation

Numeral

(du)

  1. two

References

  • ” 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):
    • (file)
  • Phonetic hangul:
    • 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.: (dul)
    Native attr.: (du)
    Sino-Korean: (i)
    Hanja:
    Ordinal: 둘째 (duljjae)

(du)

  1. two (as a determiner before a noun or classifier)
    여자 상자 나르고 있다.
    Du yeoja-ga sangja-deur-eul nareugo itda.
    Two women are carrying boxes.
    오늘, 가게 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.

  • 마리 (gae han mari, one dog, native numeral)
  • 나무 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 장(張) (jong'i du jang, two sheets of paper, native numeral)
  • 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.

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

  • 반(班) (se ban, three school classes, native numeral)
  • 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.

  • 하나 주세 (hana-man deo juse-yo, Could you give me just one more, please, native numeral)
  • 더하기 ? (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 .

Pronunciation

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

Noun

(du) (hanja )

  1. (in certain expressions) head
    Synonym: 머리 (meori)
    아이고 ! (uttered during a headache)Aigo du-ya! (literally, “Oh, my head!”)

Counter

(du) (hanja )

  1. Counter for animals, usually cattle: "head"
    Synonym: 마리 (mari)

Derived terms