二 (èr) is a Chinese character meaning “two”. It is written from 一 (one) and 一 (one), one above the other, and takes 2 strokes.
Build the character for “two”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 一
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E8C, Unicode radical data, and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke inspection
Memory aid
One horizontal stroke (一) above another horizontal stroke (一): two in all (二).
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
2 strokes
In real words
- 二月èr yuèFebruary; the second month of the year二 = èr
- 第二dì èrsecond; number two二 = èr
Go deeper
All readings
two
two; the number two
数词，表示一加一所得的数。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 二月èr yuèFebruary; the second month of the year二 = èr
- 第二dì èrsecond; number two二 = èr
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 二 mean?
二 (èr) means two; the number two.
How do you pronounce 二?
It is pronounced èr.
What parts is 二 made of?
一 (one) and 一 (one), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E8C, Unicode radical data, and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 二 have?
2. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 二?
二. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 二?
Common ones are 二月. The reading of 二 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.