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U+5169, 兩
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5169

[U+5168]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+516A]
U+F978, 兩
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F978

[U+F977]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs
[U+F979]

Translingual

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Traditional
Shinjitai
Simplified
Stroke order

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 11, +6, 8 strokes, cangjie input 一中月人 (MLBO), four-corner 10227, composition 𠓜)

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 126, character 13
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1436
  • Dae Jaweon: page 272, character 11
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 24, character 2
  • Unihan data for U+5169

Chinese

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Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character



References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

According to Shuowen Jiezi an ideogrammic compound (會意会意) : + .

Baxter (1992) observes that, in historical forms, the character is two (OC *praŋʔ) joined together; this would make 丙 the phonetic component in a sort of phono-ideogrammic compound (see also Baxter & Sagart (2014)).

The character could be linked to the original form of , which represents two chariots and a whip.

Etymology

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Unknown. Schuessler (2007) proposes two possible etymologies:

Derivative: (OC *raŋs, “chariot”) (literally “that which is paired”, i.e. “a set of wheels”).

Pronunciation 1

[edit]
trad.
simp.
alternative forms
𭃂

Note:
  • lâng - vernacular;
  • liōng - literary.
Note:
  • nn̄g/nňg/nō͘ - vernacular;
  • lióng - literary.
Note:
  • no6 - vernacular;
  • liang2 - literary.
    • (Leizhou)
      • Leizhou Pinyin: no6 / liang2
      • Sinological IPA: /nɔ³³/, /liaŋ³¹/
Note:
  • no6 - vernacular;
  • liang2 - literary.

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2
Initial () (37)
Final () (105)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter ljangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/lɨɐŋX/
Pan
Wuyun
/liɐŋX/
Shao
Rongfen
/liɑŋX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/lɨaŋX/
Li
Rong
/liaŋX/
Wang
Li
/lĭaŋX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/li̯aŋX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
liǎng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
loeng5
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
liǎng
Middle
Chinese
‹ ljangX ›
Old
Chinese
/*p.raŋʔ/
English a pair

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/2
No. 8054
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*raŋʔ/

Definitions

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  1. two
    熱氣球热气球  ―  liǎng zhī rèqìqiú  ―  two hot air balloons
    [Cantonese, trad.]
    [Cantonese, simp.]
    ni1 loeng5 faai3 paa1 dou1 taai3 saang1. [Jyutping]
    These two steaks are both too rare.
    [Shanghainese]  ―  7iq 6lian 1se [Wugniu]  ―  One, two, three
  2. two (used in radio communications in aviation and by the military)
  3. some; few
    你們辛苦 [MSC, trad.]
    你们辛苦 [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐmen zhè liǎng tiān zhēn gòu xīnkǔ de. [Pinyin]
    You've really been working hard the past few days.
  4. different; distinct
      ―  liǎngyàng  ―  difference
    我們 [MSC, trad.]
    我们 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒmen shuō de shì liǎng huí shì. [Pinyin]
    We are talking about different things.
  5. a surname
Usage notes
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  • In many lects, including Standard Mandarin, (liǎng) is used when counting things with a measure word, (èr) is used in numbers.
    • Examples with (liǎng)
        ―  liǎng ge rén  ―  two people
        ―  liǎng nián  ―  two years
        ―  liǎng bǎi  ―  two hundred
        ―  liǎng qiān  ―  two thousand
    • Examples with (èr)
      二十  ―  èrshí  ―  twenty (literally, “two tens”)
        ―  èr bǎi  ―  two hundred
      第二  ―  dì'èr  ―  second
      But not *個人
  • Rules may vary from variety to variety.
Use case Mandarin Cantonese Shanghainese
+ + +
+ - +
三十 - - +
Synonyms
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  • (èr, “two”)

Compounds

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Pronunciation 2

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trad. /
simp.
alternative forms
𭃂
Wikipedia has articles on:

Note:
  • niên2 - Chaozhou;
  • nion2 - Shantou.

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2
Initial () (37)
Final () (105)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter ljangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/lɨɐŋX/
Pan
Wuyun
/liɐŋX/
Shao
Rongfen
/liɑŋX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/lɨaŋX/
Li
Rong
/liaŋX/
Wang
Li
/lĭaŋX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/li̯aŋX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
liǎng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
loeng5
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
liǎng
Middle
Chinese
‹ ljangX ›
Old
Chinese
/*p.raŋʔ/
English a pair

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/2
No. 8054
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*raŋʔ/

Definitions

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  1. tael (a traditional unit of weight)
    1. (Mainland China) Short for 市兩市两 (shìliǎng, “market tael, equal to 1/10 of a catty or 50 grams”).
    2. (Hong Kong) equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.7994 grams
    3. (Taiwan) Short for 臺兩台两 (“Taiwanese tael, equal to 1/16 of a catty or 37.5 grams”).
    4. (historical) metal currency unit used in China and Japan
  2. Short for 公兩公两 (gōngliǎng, “hectogram”).
Usage notes
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  • In older literature, using for "tael" and for "two" can be seen.
  • The variant form 𭃂 is commonly found in shop signs displaying prices.

Compounds

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Pronunciation 3

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Rime
Character
Reading # 2/2
Initial () (37)
Final () (105)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter ljangH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/lɨɐŋH/
Pan
Wuyun
/liɐŋH/
Shao
Rongfen
/liɑŋH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/lɨaŋH/
Li
Rong
/liaŋH/
Wang
Li
/lĭaŋH/
Bernard
Karlgren
/li̯aŋH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
liàng
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
loeng6
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 2/2
No. 8061
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*raŋs/
Notes

Definitions

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  1. Original form of (liàng).

Pronunciation 4

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For pronunciation and definitions of – see .
(This character is a variant form of ).

Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic ():

Others:

Further reading

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Southern Min

Japanese

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Shinjitai

Kyūjitai

Kanji

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(Hyōgai kanjikyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form )

  1. both

Readings

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Alternative forms

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  • (also kyūjitai)

Korean

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Etymology 1

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Hanja

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(eumhun (du ryang), word-initial (South Korea) (du yang))

  1. hanja form? of (both)

Compounds

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Etymology 2

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Hanja

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(eumhun (nyang nyang), word-initial (South Korea) (nyang yang))

  1. hanja form? of ((archaic) (units of measure) a liang or tael, a unit of weight equivalent to about 40 g)
  2. hanja form? of ((archaic) (units of coinage) a nyang)

Vietnamese

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Han character

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: Hán Nôm readings: lưỡng[1][2][3][4][5][6], lượng[1][2][4][5][6], lạng[1][2][3][5][6][7]

  1. Nôm form of lạng (tael (unit of weight equal to 37.8 grams)).
  2. chữ Hán form of lượng (tael).
  3. chữ Hán form of lưỡng (two, both).

References

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