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Two

On’yomiに・じ
Kun’yomiふた・ふた.つ・ふたたび
MeaningsTwo, Two Radical (no. 7)
2 strokes #9 most common Grade 1 Radical two
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 二

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

2 strokes
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部首 · Radical

The radical of 二

Radical 7 of 214
Two

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 二 is filed under (two) — radical number 7 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 二

練習 · Practice

Drill 二 right now

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Two に・じ ふた・ふた.つ・ふたたび
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 二

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

一二 じゅうに twelve; 12; queen
二人 ふたり two persons; two people; pair
十二 じゅうに twelve; 12; queen
二月 にがつ February; second month of the lunar calendar
一二月 じゅうにがつ December; twelfth month of the lunar calendar
十二月 じゅうにがつ December; twelfth month of the lunar calendar
二度 ふたたび again; once more; a second time
二百 にひゃく 200; two hundred
二つ ふたつ two
二死 にし two out; two down (and one to go)
名乗り · Name readings

How 二 is read in names

Japanese names use readings that appear nowhere else in the language. These are 二's — the reason personal and place names are so hard to read even for native speakers.

おとつぐつぎにいふたつふだ
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 二

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 二 — learn them together, not separately.

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 二

Place names are where kanji readings get strange — and where you meet this character in the wild.

画数 · 2 strokes

Other 2-stroke kanji

Useful when looking a character up by stroke count — and a common source of visual mix-ups.

頻度 · Frequency

Next in the frequency list

二 is the 9th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

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質問 · Questions

About the kanji 二

What does the kanji 二 mean?

二 means Two, Two Radical (no. 7). It is the 9th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 二?

二 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) に、じ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ふた、ふた.つ、ふたたび.

How many strokes does 二 have?

二 is written with 2 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 二?

Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 1.

What is the radical of 二?

The radical of 二 is 二 (two), radical number 7 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What words use the kanji 二?

Common words written with 二 include 一二 (じゅうに, twelve; 12; queen); 二人 (ふたり, two persons; two people; pair); 十二 (じゅうに, twelve; 12; queen).

Which kanji sound the same as 二?

二 shares a reading with 時 (じ), 事 (じ), 自 (じ), 地 (じ), 治 (じ), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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