双

shuāng pair; both

4 strokes

双 (shuāng) is a Chinese character meaning “two”. It is written from 又 (again) and 又 (again), side by side, and takes 4 strokes.

Build the character for “pair; both”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

Start
Learn this character

Structure

又 + 又

Left–right structure

  • 又 again · yòu unknown
  • 又 again · yòu unknown

Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection

Memory aid

One 又 (a hand), and then the very same 又 again beside it. Two identical hands standing together — that is a pair.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

4 strokes

In real words

  • 双手shuāng shǒuboth hands双 = shuāngHSK 3
  • 双方shuāng fāngboth sides; both parties双 = shuāngHSK 4
Go deeper

All readings

shuāng main reading

pair; both

two; both; a pair of; even (of numbers); double

两个的;成对的;偶数的。也作量词,用于成对的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 双手shuāng shǒuboth hands双 = shuāngHSK 3
  • 双方shuāng fāngboth sides; both parties双 = shuāngHSK 4

Other characters with these parts

又 → 仅凤劝叉及友发反

又 → 仅凤劝叉及友发反

Easy to confuse with

又友

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 双 mean?

双 (shuāng) means two; both; a pair of; even (of numbers); double.

How do you pronounce 双?

It is pronounced shuāng.

What parts is 双 made of?

又 (again) and 又 (again), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 双 have?

4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 双?

又. 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 双?

Common ones are 双手 and 双方. The reading of 双 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.