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
| Afrikaans | twee | ||
| In Afrikaans, "twee" has evolved beyond its numerical meaning, often denoting "double" or "twin". | |||
| Amharic | ሁለት | ||
| The Amharic word for 'two' is related to the word 'twin', derived from the Proto-Semitic root *twm. | |||
| Hausa | biyu | ||
| "Biyu" also means "pair" or "couple" in Hausa. | |||
| Igbo | abụọ | ||
| The word "abụọ" can also mean "twins" or "the act of doubling over" in Igbo. | |||
| Malagasy | roa | ||
| The Malagasy word "roa" also means "together," as in "together as one." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | awiri | ||
| In some dialects, 'awiri' can also mean 'a pair'. | |||
| Shona | piri | ||
| The word 'piri' can also mean 'twin' or 'pair' in Shona, reflecting its dual nature. | |||
| Somali | laba | ||
| In Somali, the word "laba" can also refer to "both" or "a pair". | |||
| Sesotho | tse 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'. | |||
| Swahili | mbili | ||
| "Mbilitatu" in Swahili means "three", where "mbili" is "two" and "tatu" is "one." | |||
| Xhosa | mbini | ||
| 'Mbini' is derived from 'Bini', meaning 'little bird' or 'young bird'. | |||
| Yoruba | meji | ||
| The word “meji” in Yoruba may derive from a Proto-Bantu word meaning "double" or "twice." | |||
| Zulu | ezimbili | ||
| The word "ezimbili" in Zulu comes from the Proto-Bantu term "*idiri", meaning "a pair". | |||
| Bambara | fila | ||
| Ewe | eve | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bibiri | ||
| Lingala | mibale | ||
| Luganda | bbiri | ||
| Sepedi | pedi | ||
| Twi (Akan) | mmienu | ||
Two in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | اثنان | ||
| The word اثنان (ithnān) is related to the word اثنا (ithnā) meaning both “middle” and “a pair”. | |||
| Hebrew | שתיים | ||
| The word "שתיים" ("two" in Hebrew) is related to the word "שתי" ("two" in feminine or dual form), indicating a paired or dual nature. | |||
| Pashto | دوه | ||
| The word "دوه" in Pashto can also mean "both" or "pair", and is cognate with the words "دو" in Persian and "दो" in Hindi. | |||
| Arabic | اثنان | ||
| The word اثنان (ithnān) is related to the word اثنا (ithnā) meaning both “middle” and “a pair”. | |||
Two in Western European Languages
| Albanian | dy | ||
| 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". | |||
| Basque | bi | ||
| In Basque, "bi" also means "life" and the "spirit of the house" | |||
| Catalan | dos | ||
| The Catalan word "dos" is derived from the Latin "duo", meaning "pair", and also means "couple" or "set". | |||
| Croatian | dva | ||
| The word 'dva' also means 'both' in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | to | ||
| The Danish word 'to' is a homophone of two other words with distinct meanings, making it a homograph as well. | |||
| Dutch | twee | ||
| In Dutch, the word 'twee' can also mean 'doubt' or 'hesitation'. | |||
| English | two | ||
| 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”). | |||
| French | deux | ||
| In Old French, "deux" meant "second" and was derived from the Latin "duo," meaning "two." | |||
| Frisian | twa | ||
| Frisian "twa" also means "both" and "pair". | |||
| Galician | dous | ||
| The Galician word "dous" is derived from the Latin word "duos", meaning "two". | |||
| German | zwei | ||
| The Proto-Germanic term "*twai" and its cognates are likely derived from a Pre-Indo-European root meaning "fork, branch". | |||
| Icelandic | tvö | ||
| Tvö is a homograph and can mean 'two' or a 'measure containing 0.24 litres'. | |||
| Irish | a 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. | |||
| Italian | due | ||
| "Due" is an alternative form of "Duoi", which is a number meaning "two". | |||
| Luxembourgish | zwee | ||
| Maltese | żewġ | ||
| Żewġ's Semitic root 'ṯn' also appears in the Maltese words 'it-tmenin' ('eighty') and 'it-truxa' ('truck'). | |||
| Norwegian | to | ||
| 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 Gaelic | dhà | ||
| 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". | |||
| Spanish | dos | ||
| 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). | |||
| Swedish | två | ||
| "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. | |||
| Welsh | dau | ||
| 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
| Belarusian | два | ||
| The word "два" in Belarusian can also refer to a pair or a couple. | |||
| Bosnian | dva | ||
| The Slavic word "dva" also means "pair" or "couple" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | две | ||
| "Две" also appears in words "двойка," "двор," "двадесет," and "двама." | |||
| Czech | dva | ||
| Czech "dva" also means "two of a pair": e.g. "dva šálky" = "a pair of cups" | |||
| Estonian | kaks | ||
| The Finnish word "kaksoset" (twins) is derived from the word "kaksi" (two), which is cognate with the Estonian word "kaks". | |||
| Finnish | kaksi | ||
| The Finnish word "kaksi" derives from the Proto-Baltic form *kaksi and Proto-Indo-European *dwó, cognate with the English word "two". | |||
| Hungarian | kettő | ||
| The Hungarian word 'kettő' may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwó or from the Proto-Ugric root *käti. | |||
| Latvian | divi | ||
| The word "divi" shares Proto-Indo-European roots with the words "duo," "deux," and "dos," meaning "two" in Greek, French, and Spanish, respectively. | |||
| Lithuanian | du | ||
| In Lithuanian, the word "du" relates to a duality concept, commonly referring to pairs or couples. | |||
| Macedonian | двајца | ||
| 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". | |||
| Polish | dwa | ||
| In Old Polish "dwa" also meant "both" and "together". | |||
| Romanian | două | ||
| 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". | |||
| Russian | два | ||
| 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"). | |||
| Serbian | два | ||
| "Два" is derived from Proto-Slavic *dъva and can also mean "both" or "a couple" in Serbian. | |||
| Slovak | dva | ||
| Slovak "dva" is cognate with "two" in several other Slavic languages and may originate from PIE root "*dwó" | |||
| Slovenian | dva | ||
| The word 'dva' can also mean 'pair' or 'couple' in Slovenian. | |||
| Ukrainian | два | ||
| 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
| Bengali | দুই | ||
| The word "দুই" may also mean "a pair" or "a couple" in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | બે | ||
| Although primarily meaning two, "બે" can also be short for the words "બા" (woman) or "બેર" (plum). | |||
| Hindi | दो | ||
| "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. | |||
| Kannada | ಎರಡು | ||
| The word "ಎರಡು" also means "pair" or "couple" in Kannada, highlighting the idea of duality or togetherness. | |||
| Malayalam | രണ്ട് | ||
| 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." | |||
| Marathi | दोन | ||
| In Marathi, the word 'दोन्' ('don') can also refer to a pair or a couple. | |||
| Nepali | दुई | ||
| 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. | |||
| Punjabi | ਦੋ | ||
| The Punjabi word | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දෙක | ||
| The word "දෙක" can also mean "again" or "once more" in certain contexts. | |||
| Tamil | இரண்டு | ||
| The word 'இரண்டு' comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *ir-, meaning 'two' or 'pair'. | |||
| Telugu | రెండు | ||
| The Telugu word "రెండు" not only means "two" but also represents a pair or a couple. | |||
| Urdu | دو | ||
| 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 | ||
| 二 is pronounced "èr" and the first stroke of the character is a dash indicating horizontal symmetry, like the number 2. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 二 | ||
| 二 (two) may also mean "double," "duplicate," or "secondary." | |||
| Japanese | 二 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 두 comes from Middle Chinese and cognates with the words 'duo' in Mandarin and Cantonese. | |||
| Mongolian | хоёр | ||
| 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
| Indonesian | dua | ||
| "Dua" also can be used to refer to a blessing given for a person with a good character. | |||
| Javanese | loro | ||
| The word "loro" also means "two parts" or "a pair" in Javanese. | |||
| Khmer | ពីរ | ||
| "ពីរ" can also be translated as "a couple; a pair." | |||
| Lao | ສອງ | ||
| The Lao word ສອງ also means "pair" or "couple" in some contexts. | |||
| Malay | dua | ||
| In some Malay dialects, 'dua' can also mean 'again' or 'once more'. | |||
| Thai | สอง | ||
| The Thai word "สอง" is also used as a prefix in ordinal numbers, e.g. "ครั้งที่สอง" (second time) | |||
| Vietnamese | hai | ||
| Hai also means 'sea' in Vietnamese, as in the phrase 'Bien Hai' (East Sea). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dalawa | ||
Two in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | iki | ||
| In Azerbaijani, the word "iki" means "two" but also refers to "both" or "pair". | |||
| Kazakh | екі | ||
| The Kazakh word "екі" is cognate with the Turkish "iki" and the Mongolian "хоёр" and may be derived from the Proto-Altaic word "*eki" | |||
| Kyrgyz | эки | ||
| The word "эки" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a pair or a set of two. | |||
| Tajik | ду | ||
| The word "ду" is also used to mean "both" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | iki | ||
| Uzbek | ikkitasi | ||
| The word "ikkitasi" can refer to both the number "two" and to a pair of something. | |||
| Uyghur | ئىككى | ||
Two in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | elua | ||
| Elúa, aside from meaning "two," can refer to something paired, such as hands or feet. | |||
| Maori | rua | ||
| Rua also means 'pit' or 'hole' in Maori, and is related to the word 'rua' meaning 'cave' in Hawaiian. | |||
| Samoan | lua | ||
| 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
| Aymara | paya | ||
| Guarani | mokõi | ||
Two in International Languages
| Esperanto | du | ||
| The word "du" is a contraction of "duo", a Latin word meaning "two" or "a pair". | |||
| Latin | duo | ||
| In Latin, 'duo' can also refer to a pair of gladiators who fought together. | |||
Two in Others Languages
| Greek | δύο | ||
| In Ancient Greek, "δύο" meant "a pair" as well as "two" and came from the Proto-Indo-European root *duwo- meaning "two" or "pair." | |||
| Hmong | ob | ||
| 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." | |||
| Kurdish | du | ||
| The Kurdish word “du” is also used in the phrase “du destan”, meaning “two hands”, which refers to the bond between two people. | |||
| Turkish | iki | ||
| The word "iki" can also mean "similar" or "alike" in some contexts. | |||
| Xhosa | mbini | ||
| 'Mbini' is derived from 'Bini', meaning 'little bird' or 'young bird'. | |||
| Yiddish | צוויי | ||
| The Yiddish word "צוויי" can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European *dwó- or *dwóh₁-. | |||
| Zulu | ezimbili | ||
| The word "ezimbili" in Zulu comes from the Proto-Bantu term "*idiri", meaning "a pair". | |||
| Assamese | দুই | ||
| Aymara | paya | ||
| Bhojpuri | दु | ||
| Dhivehi | ދޭއް | ||
| Dogri | दो | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | dalawa | ||
| Guarani | mokõi | ||
| Ilocano | dua | ||
| Krio | tu | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دوو | ||
| Maithili | दू | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯅꯤ | ||
| Mizo | pahnih | ||
| Oromo | lama | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଦୁଇଟି | ||
| Quechua | iskay | ||
| Sanskrit | द्वि | ||
| Tatar | ике | ||
| Tigrinya | ክልተ | ||
| Tsonga | mbirhi | ||