"二"和"两"

44sunset
 April 22, 2010, 05:43 AM posted in General Discussion

i'm still not able to use these two words correctly.

is there anyone could do me a favor?

many thx

Profile picture
clairez
 April 29, 2010, 03:30 PM

generally, we often use 两 to express what we what to say in our daily life, such as, 两个人(two people), 两天(two days) and so on.

when we count numbers, we always use 二 instead of using 两

but both of them means two

hope it helps~

Profile picture
dunderklumpen
 April 29, 2010, 04:23 PM

When "two" is followed by a measure word, e.g. 个，辆 or 只, the word for "two" is generally 两. For example:
两个人 liang3 ge4 ren2 two people
两只笔 liang3 zhi1 bi3 two pens

二 is generally used for counting, e.g. 一，二，三，四，五 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and 一加一等于二 (1+1=2). Likewise, 二零零八年 (the year of 2008) and 我的号码是三二七五零零... (my phone number is 327500...)

Sometimes it seems both words can be used. A google search gives:
两百 (liang3bai3 200) 16 000 000 hits
二百 (er4bai3 200) 9 000 000
两千 (liang3qian1 2 000) 17 000 000
二千 (er4qian1 2 000) 4 500 000
两万 (liang3wan4 20 000) 17 000 000
二万 (er4wan4 20 000) 4 000 000

Please correct me if I'm wrong on some point, anyone.