Two in different languages

Two in Different Languages

Discover 'Two' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The number two has a special significance in many cultures and languages around the world. It represents duality, balance, and the concept of pairing or companionship. From the Chinese yin and yang to the ancient Egyptian mythology, the number two has been a powerful symbol of harmony and interdependence.

Moreover, the word 'two' is a fundamental building block in communication, enabling us to express quantities and relationships. Understanding the translation of 'two' in different languages can open up new avenues of cultural exchange and appreciation.

For instance, the word 'two' is 'dos' in Spanish, 'zwei' in German, and 'deux' in French. Each language has its unique way of expressing this simple yet profound concept, reflecting the diversity and richness of human culture.

In this article, we will explore the translations of 'two' in various languages, shedding light on the fascinating history and cultural significance behind each word.

Two


Two in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanstwee
In Afrikaans, "twee" has evolved beyond its numerical meaning, often denoting "double" or "twin".
Amharicሁለት
The Amharic word for 'two' is related to the word 'twin', derived from the Proto-Semitic root *twm.
Hausabiyu
"Biyu" also means "pair" or "couple" in Hausa.
Igboabụọ
The word "abụọ" can also mean "twins" or "the act of doubling over" in Igbo.
Malagasyroa
The Malagasy word "roa" also means "together," as in "together as one."
Nyanja (Chichewa)awiri
In some dialects, 'awiri' can also mean 'a pair'.
Shonapiri
The word 'piri' can also mean 'twin' or 'pair' in Shona, reflecting its dual nature.
Somalilaba
In Somali, the word "laba" can also refer to "both" or "a pair".
Sesothotse peli
Tse peli, meaning 'two' in Sesotho, is also used in the phrase 'mabele a tse peli', meaning 'maize with two kernels on the cob'.
Swahilimbili
"Mbilitatu" in Swahili means "three", where "mbili" is "two" and "tatu" is "one."
Xhosambini
'Mbini' is derived from 'Bini', meaning 'little bird' or 'young bird'.
Yorubameji
The word “meji” in Yoruba may derive from a Proto-Bantu word meaning "double" or "twice."
Zuluezimbili
The word "ezimbili" in Zulu comes from the Proto-Bantu term "*idiri", meaning "a pair".
Bambarafila
Eweeve
Kinyarwandabibiri
Lingalamibale
Lugandabbiri
Sepedipedi
Twi (Akan)mmienu

Two in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicاثنان
The word اثنان (ithnān) is related to the word اثنا (ithnā) meaning both “middle” and “a pair”.
Hebrewשתיים
The word "שתיים" ("two" in Hebrew) is related to the word "שתי" ("two" in feminine or dual form), indicating a paired or dual nature.
Pashtoدوه
The word "دوه" in Pashto can also mean "both" or "pair", and is cognate with the words "دو" in Persian and "दो" in Hindi.
Arabicاثنان
The word اثنان (ithnān) is related to the word اثنا (ithnā) meaning both “middle” and “a pair”.

Two in Western European Languages

Albaniandy
The Albanian word "dy" likely originates from the Proto-Albanian word *dū, which is related to the Sanskrit word "dvi" and the Greek word "dýo".
Basquebi
In Basque, "bi" also means "life" and the "spirit of the house"
Catalandos
The Catalan word "dos" is derived from the Latin "duo", meaning "pair", and also means "couple" or "set".
Croatiandva
The word 'dva' also means 'both' in Croatian.
Danishto
The Danish word 'to' is a homophone of two other words with distinct meanings, making it a homograph as well.
Dutchtwee
In Dutch, the word 'twee' can also mean 'doubt' or 'hesitation'.
Englishtwo
The English word "two" derives from the Proto-Indo-European word "duwo", the same origin as the Latin "duo" and the Sanskrit "dvi" and is cognate with Albanian "dy", Welsh "dau", and Breton "daou" (all meaning “two”).
Frenchdeux
In Old French, "deux" meant "second" and was derived from the Latin "duo," meaning "two."
Frisiantwa
Frisian "twa" also means "both" and "pair".
Galiciandous
The Galician word "dous" is derived from the Latin word "duos", meaning "two".
Germanzwei
The Proto-Germanic term "*twai" and its cognates are likely derived from a Pre-Indo-European root meaning "fork, branch".
Icelandictvö
Tvö is a homograph and can mean 'two' or a 'measure containing 0.24 litres'.
Irisha dó
The Irish word "a dó" has been interpreted to mean both "two" and "one" and is sometimes replaced with the word "fear" in older Irish texts to account for this ambiguity.
Italiandue
"Due" is an alternative form of "Duoi", which is a number meaning "two".
Luxembourgishzwee
Malteseżewġ
Żewġ's Semitic root 'ṯn' also appears in the Maltese words 'it-tmenin' ('eighty') and 'it-truxa' ('truck').
Norwegianto
In Norwegian, "to" can also mean "the" or "that," depending on the context.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)dois
In Portuguese, "dois" can also refer to the plural masculine form of the demonstrative "that".
Scots Gaelicdhà
The Scots Gaelic word "dhà" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwo-, also found in English "two", and is cognate with Gaelic "dà" and Welsh "dau".
Spanishdos
In Spanish, "dos" can also refer to "back" in the phrases "dar las espaldas" (to turn one's back) and "a mis espaldas" (behind me).
Swedishtvå
"Två" is the Swedish word for two, and is thought to be related to the word "twi" in Gothic, "two" in Old English, and "zwei" in German.
Welshdau
The Welsh word 'dau' ('two') is cognate with the Latin word 'duo', and also means 'the pair' or 'the couple'.

Two in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianдва
The word "два" in Belarusian can also refer to a pair or a couple.
Bosniandva
The Slavic word "dva" also means "pair" or "couple" in Bosnian.
Bulgarianдве
"Две" also appears in words "двойка," "двор," "двадесет," and "двама."
Czechdva
Czech "dva" also means "two of a pair": e.g. "dva šálky" = "a pair of cups"
Estoniankaks
The Finnish word "kaksoset" (twins) is derived from the word "kaksi" (two), which is cognate with the Estonian word "kaks".
Finnishkaksi
The Finnish word "kaksi" derives from the Proto-Baltic form *kaksi and Proto-Indo-European *dwó, cognate with the English word "two".
Hungariankettő
The Hungarian word 'kettő' may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwó or from the Proto-Ugric root *käti.
Latviandivi
The word "divi" shares Proto-Indo-European roots with the words "duo," "deux," and "dos," meaning "two" in Greek, French, and Spanish, respectively.
Lithuaniandu
In Lithuanian, the word "du" relates to a duality concept, commonly referring to pairs or couples.
Macedonianдвајца
The word "двајца" in Macedonian can be broken down into the Proto-Slavic elements "dъva" (two) and "jь" (indicating a pair), suggesting its original meaning was "a pair of two".
Polishdwa
In Old Polish "dwa" also meant "both" and "together".
Romaniandouă
The word "Două" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *d(w)o-, which also appears in the English word "two" and the Greek word "dύο".
Russianдва
The word "два" ("two") in Russian also means "pair" and "couple" and comes from the Proto-Slavic word *dъva* meaning "two, pair, couple" (also the origin of the English word "two").
Serbianдва
"Два" is derived from Proto-Slavic *dъva and can also mean "both" or "a couple" in Serbian.
Slovakdva
Slovak "dva" is cognate with "two" in several other Slavic languages and may originate from PIE root "*dwó"
Sloveniandva
The word 'dva' can also mean 'pair' or 'couple' in Slovenian.
Ukrainianдва
The word "два" in Ukrainian likely originated from the Proto-Slavic word "dъva" and is related to the Latin word "duo".

Two in South Asian Languages

Bengaliদুই
The word "দুই" may also mean "a pair" or "a couple" in Bengali.
Gujaratiબે
Although primarily meaning two, "બે" can also be short for the words "બા" (woman) or "બેર" (plum).
Hindiदो
"दो" in Hindi can be used as a preposition to denote "upto" or "as far as," and it can also be used as a suffix to create ordinal numbers.
Kannadaಎರಡು
The word "ಎರಡು" also means "pair" or "couple" in Kannada, highlighting the idea of duality or togetherness.
Malayalamരണ്ട്
രണ്ട് is also used to indicate the second or the one just after, hence the saying രണ്ടാന്തരം (literally second interval), meaning "an extremely short while."
Marathiदोन
In Marathi, the word 'दोन्' ('don') can also refer to a pair or a couple.
Nepaliदुई
The Nepali word 'दुई' is a cognate of the Hindi word 'दो' and is also used in compound terms to indicate a pair, a couple, or a set.
Punjabiਦੋ
The Punjabi word
Sinhala (Sinhalese)දෙක
The word "දෙක" can also mean "again" or "once more" in certain contexts.
Tamilஇரண்டு
The word 'இரண்டு' comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *ir-, meaning 'two' or 'pair'.
Teluguరెండు
The Telugu word "రెండు" not only means "two" but also represents a pair or a couple.
Urduدو
The word "دو" can also mean "pair" or "couple" in Urdu, similar to its usage in some other Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi.

Two in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)
二 is pronounced "èr" and the first stroke of the character is a dash indicating horizontal symmetry, like the number 2.
Chinese (Traditional)
二 (two) may also mean "double," "duplicate," or "secondary."
Japanese
The character "二" (two) is also used as a prefix to mean "secondary" or "vice," as in "二等兵" (private second class).
Korean
두 comes from Middle Chinese and cognates with the words 'duo' in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Mongolianхоёр
The word "хоёр" can also refer to a pair, couple, or duo.
Myanmar (Burmese)နှစ်
The Burmese word "နှစ်" (pronounced "hnit") can also refer to "pair", "couple", or "piece".

Two in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiandua
"Dua" also can be used to refer to a blessing given for a person with a good character.
Javaneseloro
The word "loro" also means "two parts" or "a pair" in Javanese.
Khmerពីរ
"ពីរ" can also be translated as "a couple; a pair."
Laoສອງ
The Lao word ສອງ also means "pair" or "couple" in some contexts.
Malaydua
In some Malay dialects, 'dua' can also mean 'again' or 'once more'.
Thaiสอง
The Thai word "สอง" is also used as a prefix in ordinal numbers, e.g. "ครั้งที่สอง" (second time)
Vietnamesehai
Hai also means 'sea' in Vietnamese, as in the phrase 'Bien Hai' (East Sea).
Filipino (Tagalog)dalawa

Two in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniiki
In Azerbaijani, the word "iki" means "two" but also refers to "both" or "pair".
Kazakhекі
The Kazakh word "екі" is cognate with the Turkish "iki" and the Mongolian "хоёр" and may be derived from the Proto-Altaic word "*eki"
Kyrgyzэки
The word "эки" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a pair or a set of two.
Tajikду
The word "ду" is also used to mean "both" in Tajik.
Turkmeniki
Uzbekikkitasi
The word "ikkitasi" can refer to both the number "two" and to a pair of something.
Uyghurئىككى

Two in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianelua
Elúa, aside from meaning "two," can refer to something paired, such as hands or feet.
Maorirua
Rua also means 'pit' or 'hole' in Maori, and is related to the word 'rua' meaning 'cave' in Hawaiian.
Samoanlua
The Samoan word 'lua' also means 'again' or 'double'
Tagalog (Filipino)dalawa
The word "dalawa" in Tagalog also means "the two of us" or "the couple".

Two in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarapaya
Guaranimokõi

Two in International Languages

Esperantodu
The word "du" is a contraction of "duo", a Latin word meaning "two" or "a pair".
Latinduo
In Latin, 'duo' can also refer to a pair of gladiators who fought together.

Two in Others Languages

Greekδύο
In Ancient Greek, "δύο" meant "a pair" as well as "two" and came from the Proto-Indo-European root *duwo- meaning "two" or "pair."
Hmongob
In Hmong, "ob" is often used to represent the number "two" in compounds, such as "ob sim" for "two hundred" and "ob caj" for "two thousand."
Kurdishdu
The Kurdish word “du” is also used in the phrase “du destan”, meaning “two hands”, which refers to the bond between two people.
Turkishiki
The word "iki" can also mean "similar" or "alike" in some contexts.
Xhosambini
'Mbini' is derived from 'Bini', meaning 'little bird' or 'young bird'.
Yiddishצוויי
The Yiddish word "צוויי" can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European *dwó- or *dwóh₁-.
Zuluezimbili
The word "ezimbili" in Zulu comes from the Proto-Bantu term "*idiri", meaning "a pair".
Assameseদুই
Aymarapaya
Bhojpuriदु
Dhivehiދޭއް
Dogriदो
Filipino (Tagalog)dalawa
Guaranimokõi
Ilocanodua
Kriotu
Kurdish (Sorani)دوو
Maithiliदू
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯅꯤ
Mizopahnih
Oromolama
Odia (Oriya)ଦୁଇଟି
Quechuaiskay
Sanskritद्वि
Tatarике
Tigrinyaክልተ
Tsongambirhi

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