Two in Different Languages
Discover 'Two' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Two
Afrikaans twee | ||
Albanian dy | ||
Amharic ሁለት | ||
Arabic اثنان | ||
Armenian երկուսը | ||
Assamese দুই | ||
Aymara paya | ||
Azerbaijani iki | ||
Bambara fila | ||
Basque bi | ||
Belarusian два | ||
Bengali দুই | ||
Bhojpuri दु | ||
Bosnian dva | ||
Bulgarian две | ||
Catalan dos | ||
Cebuano duha | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 二 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 二 | ||
Corsican due | ||
Croatian dva | ||
Czech dva | ||
Danish to | ||
Dhivehi ދޭއް | ||
Dogri दो | ||
Dutch twee | ||
English two | ||
Esperanto du | ||
Estonian kaks | ||
Ewe eve | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) dalawa | ||
Finnish kaksi | ||
French deux | ||
Frisian twa | ||
Galician dous | ||
Georgian ორი | ||
German zwei | ||
Greek δύο | ||
Guarani mokõi | ||
Gujarati બે | ||
Haitian Creole de | ||
Hausa biyu | ||
Hawaiian elua | ||
Hebrew שתיים | ||
Hindi दो | ||
Hmong ob | ||
Hungarian kettő | ||
Icelandic tvö | ||
Igbo abụọ | ||
Ilocano dua | ||
Indonesian dua | ||
Irish a dó | ||
Italian due | ||
Japanese 二 | ||
Javanese loro | ||
Kannada ಎರಡು | ||
Kazakh екі | ||
Khmer ពីរ | ||
Kinyarwanda bibiri | ||
Konkani दोन | ||
Korean 두 | ||
Krio tu | ||
Kurdish du | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) دوو | ||
Kyrgyz эки | ||
Lao ສອງ | ||
Latin duo | ||
Latvian divi | ||
Lingala mibale | ||
Lithuanian du | ||
Luganda bbiri | ||
Luxembourgish zwee | ||
Macedonian двајца | ||
Maithili दू | ||
Malagasy roa | ||
Malay dua | ||
Malayalam രണ്ട് | ||
Maltese żewġ | ||
Maori rua | ||
Marathi दोन | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯅꯤ | ||
Mizo pahnih | ||
Mongolian хоёр | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) နှစ် | ||
Nepali दुई | ||
Norwegian to | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) awiri | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଦୁଇଟି | ||
Oromo lama | ||
Pashto دوه | ||
Persian دو | ||
Polish dwa | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) dois | ||
Punjabi ਦੋ | ||
Quechua iskay | ||
Romanian două | ||
Russian два | ||
Samoan lua | ||
Sanskrit द्वि | ||
Scots Gaelic dhà | ||
Sepedi pedi | ||
Serbian два | ||
Sesotho tse peli | ||
Shona piri | ||
Sindhi ٻه | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) දෙක | ||
Slovak dva | ||
Slovenian dva | ||
Somali laba | ||
Spanish dos | ||
Sundanese dua | ||
Swahili mbili | ||
Swedish två | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) dalawa | ||
Tajik ду | ||
Tamil இரண்டு | ||
Tatar ике | ||
Telugu రెండు | ||
Thai สอง | ||
Tigrinya ክልተ | ||
Tsonga mbirhi | ||
Turkish iki | ||
Turkmen iki | ||
Twi (Akan) mmienu | ||
Ukrainian два | ||
Urdu دو | ||
Uyghur ئىككى | ||
Uzbek ikkitasi | ||
Vietnamese hai | ||
Welsh dau | ||
Xhosa mbini | ||
Yiddish צוויי | ||
Yoruba meji | ||
Zulu ezimbili |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "twee" has evolved beyond its numerical meaning, often denoting "double" or "twin". |
| Albanian | 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". |
| Amharic | The Amharic word for 'two' is related to the word 'twin', derived from the Proto-Semitic root *twm. |
| Arabic | The word اثنان (ithnān) is related to the word اثنا (ithnā) meaning both “middle” and “a pair”. |
| Armenian | Although the word երկուսը means 'two' today, it used to mean 'twice'. |
| Azerbaijani | In Azerbaijani, the word "iki" means "two" but also refers to "both" or "pair". |
| Basque | In Basque, "bi" also means "life" and the "spirit of the house" |
| Belarusian | The word "два" in Belarusian can also refer to a pair or a couple. |
| Bengali | The word "দুই" may also mean "a pair" or "a couple" in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | The Slavic word "dva" also means "pair" or "couple" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | "Две" also appears in words "двойка," "двор," "двадесет," and "двама." |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "dos" is derived from the Latin "duo", meaning "pair", and also means "couple" or "set". |
| Cebuano | "Duha" (two) in Cebuano comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "duHa" meaning "to pair." |
| 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." |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "due" can also mean "pain". |
| Croatian | The word 'dva' also means 'both' in Croatian. |
| Czech | Czech "dva" also means "two of a pair": e.g. "dva šálky" = "a pair of cups" |
| Danish | The Danish word 'to' is a homophone of two other words with distinct meanings, making it a homograph as well. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word 'twee' can also mean 'doubt' or 'hesitation'. |
| Esperanto | The word "du" is a contraction of "duo", a Latin word meaning "two" or "a pair". |
| Estonian | The Finnish word "kaksoset" (twins) is derived from the word "kaksi" (two), which is cognate with the Estonian word "kaks". |
| Finnish | The Finnish word "kaksi" derives from the Proto-Baltic form *kaksi and Proto-Indo-European *dwó, cognate with the English word "two". |
| French | In Old French, "deux" meant "second" and was derived from the Latin "duo," meaning "two." |
| Frisian | Frisian "twa" also means "both" and "pair". |
| Galician | The Galician word "dous" is derived from the Latin word "duos", meaning "two". |
| Georgian | The etymon of "ორი" is Indo-European "duw-/". The form of the word in Mingrelian language, which is the closest relative of Georgian among the Kartvelian languages, is "žur", which has the same etymology. The word "ორი" is also used to denote "pair", as in ორი წყვილი (two pairs). |
| German | The Proto-Germanic term "*twai" and its cognates are likely derived from a Pre-Indo-European root meaning "fork, branch". |
| Greek | In Ancient Greek, "δύο" meant "a pair" as well as "two" and came from the Proto-Indo-European root *duwo- meaning "two" or "pair." |
| Gujarati | Although primarily meaning two, "બે" can also be short for the words "બા" (woman) or "બેર" (plum). |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "de" (French "deux") also means "some" and "several" depending on the context. |
| Hausa | "Biyu" also means "pair" or "couple" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | Elúa, aside from meaning "two," can refer to something paired, such as hands or feet. |
| Hebrew | The word "שתיים" ("two" in Hebrew) is related to the word "שתי" ("two" in feminine or dual form), indicating a paired or dual nature. |
| Hindi | "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. |
| Hmong | 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." |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word 'kettő' may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwó or from the Proto-Ugric root *käti. |
| Icelandic | Tvö is a homograph and can mean 'two' or a 'measure containing 0.24 litres'. |
| Igbo | The word "abụọ" can also mean "twins" or "the act of doubling over" in Igbo. |
| Indonesian | "Dua" also can be used to refer to a blessing given for a person with a good character. |
| Irish | 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" is an alternative form of "Duoi", which is a number meaning "two". |
| Japanese | The character "二" (two) is also used as a prefix to mean "secondary" or "vice," as in "二等兵" (private second class). |
| Javanese | The word "loro" also means "two parts" or "a pair" in Javanese. |
| Kannada | The word "ಎರಡು" also means "pair" or "couple" in Kannada, highlighting the idea of duality or togetherness. |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "екі" is cognate with the Turkish "iki" and the Mongolian "хоёр" and may be derived from the Proto-Altaic word "*eki" |
| Khmer | "ពីរ" can also be translated as "a couple; a pair." |
| Korean | 두 comes from Middle Chinese and cognates with the words 'duo' in Mandarin and Cantonese. |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word “du” is also used in the phrase “du destan”, meaning “two hands”, which refers to the bond between two people. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "эки" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a pair or a set of two. |
| Lao | The Lao word ສອງ also means "pair" or "couple" in some contexts. |
| Latin | In Latin, 'duo' can also refer to a pair of gladiators who fought together. |
| Latvian | The word "divi" shares Proto-Indo-European roots with the words "duo," "deux," and "dos," meaning "two" in Greek, French, and Spanish, respectively. |
| Lithuanian | In Lithuanian, the word "du" relates to a duality concept, commonly referring to pairs or couples. |
| Macedonian | 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". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "roa" also means "together," as in "together as one." |
| Malay | In some Malay dialects, 'dua' can also mean 'again' or 'once more'. |
| Malayalam | 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." |
| Maltese | Żewġ's Semitic root 'ṯn' also appears in the Maltese words 'it-tmenin' ('eighty') and 'it-truxa' ('truck'). |
| Maori | Rua also means 'pit' or 'hole' in Maori, and is related to the word 'rua' meaning 'cave' in Hawaiian. |
| Marathi | In Marathi, the word 'दोन्' ('don') can also refer to a pair or a couple. |
| Mongolian | The word "хоёр" can also refer to a pair, couple, or duo. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The Burmese word "နှစ်" (pronounced "hnit") can also refer to "pair", "couple", or "piece". |
| Nepali | 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. |
| Norwegian | In Norwegian, "to" can also mean "the" or "that," depending on the context. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In some dialects, 'awiri' can also mean 'a pair'. |
| Pashto | The word "دوه" in Pashto can also mean "both" or "pair", and is cognate with the words "دو" in Persian and "दो" in Hindi. |
| Persian | In Persian, "دو" ('do') can also mean 'both' or 'double' and is a root word in the number system. |
| Polish | In Old Polish "dwa" also meant "both" and "together". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "dois" can also refer to the plural masculine form of the demonstrative "that". |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word |
| Romanian | 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 | 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"). |
| Samoan | The Samoan word 'lua' also means 'again' or 'double' |
| Scots Gaelic | 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". |
| Serbian | "Два" is derived from Proto-Slavic *dъva and can also mean "both" or "a couple" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | Tse peli, meaning 'two' in Sesotho, is also used in the phrase 'mabele a tse peli', meaning 'maize with two kernels on the cob'. |
| Shona | The word 'piri' can also mean 'twin' or 'pair' in Shona, reflecting its dual nature. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "ٻه" (beeha) is derived from the Proto-Indo-Aryan word "dwi" or "dvi," which also means "two" in Sanskrit. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "දෙක" can also mean "again" or "once more" in certain contexts. |
| Slovak | Slovak "dva" is cognate with "two" in several other Slavic languages and may originate from PIE root "*dwó" |
| Slovenian | The word 'dva' can also mean 'pair' or 'couple' in Slovenian. |
| Somali | In Somali, the word "laba" can also refer to "both" or "a pair". |
| Spanish | 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). |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "dua" can also refer to the second person pronoun "you" in formal settings. |
| Swahili | "Mbilitatu" in Swahili means "three", where "mbili" is "two" and "tatu" is "one." |
| Swedish | "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. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word "dalawa" in Tagalog also means "the two of us" or "the couple". |
| Tajik | The word "ду" is also used to mean "both" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | The word 'இரண்டு' comes from the Proto-Dravidian root *ir-, meaning 'two' or 'pair'. |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "రెండు" not only means "two" but also represents a pair or a couple. |
| Thai | The Thai word "สอง" is also used as a prefix in ordinal numbers, e.g. "ครั้งที่สอง" (second time) |
| Turkish | The word "iki" can also mean "similar" or "alike" in some contexts. |
| Ukrainian | The word "два" in Ukrainian likely originated from the Proto-Slavic word "dъva" and is related to the Latin word "duo". |
| Urdu | The word "دو" can also mean "pair" or "couple" in Urdu, similar to its usage in some other Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi. |
| Uzbek | The word "ikkitasi" can refer to both the number "two" and to a pair of something. |
| Vietnamese | Hai also means 'sea' in Vietnamese, as in the phrase 'Bien Hai' (East Sea). |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'dau' ('two') is cognate with the Latin word 'duo', and also means 'the pair' or 'the couple'. |
| Xhosa | 'Mbini' is derived from 'Bini', meaning 'little bird' or 'young bird'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "צוויי" can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European *dwó- or *dwóh₁-. |
| Yoruba | The word “meji” in Yoruba may derive from a Proto-Bantu word meaning "double" or "twice." |
| Zulu | The word "ezimbili" in Zulu comes from the Proto-Bantu term "*idiri", meaning "a pair". |
| English | 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”). |