Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word két. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word két, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say két in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word két you have here. The definition of the word két will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofkét, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
To avoid misunderstanding, két may be clarified as kettő; compare hét(“seven”).
The numeral két(“two”) and the adjective kis(“small, little”) can only stand adjectively, before a noun (e.g. két alma(“two apples”) and kis alma(“a small apple”)). If they were to occur on their own (possibly also inflected), predicatively, or in reference to a whole noun phrase, the terms kettő(“two”) and kicsi(“small”) must be used instead: Csak kettő van(“There are only two”), Csak kicsi van(“There is a small one only.”) The same applies to compound numerals like tizenkét and tizenkettő(“twelve”). In terms of distribution, két and kis are like English sick (sick people ~ két/kis alma) while kettő and kicsi resemble ill (they are ill ~ csak kettő/kicsi van). The longer forms are definitely broader in use as they may also occur adjectively, whether for emphasis or as a form of colloquialism. As a rule of thumb, the short variants (két, kis) never stand on their own.
(two):két in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
(doubt):két in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
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Etymology
This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “This at first sight looks like an Austronesian loan, cf. the root *-kit (whence Malaydikit, Balinesekikit), but uncertain due to the lack of Chamic cognates. There are a lot of words similar in form with these in the region across the language families (Austroasiatic, Kra-Dai, Austronesian, Sino-Tibetan). It's opaque all around.”
Attested as kéc in the Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum (1838) and Đại Nam Quấc âm tự vị (1895). It is not clear if this spelling was etymological or if it simply reflected the /k/-/t/ coda merger (both dictionaries were based on the Southern dialects).