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How to write 二 (èr, “two”)

二 (èr), an HSK 1 character, means “two”, “2” and “stupid”. It is the number 2. As a top-bottom character it splits into 一 (“one”), stroke 1; 一 (“one”), stroke 2, written the top first. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 二手 (“indirectly acquired”), 二维码 (“2D barcode”) and 二氧化碳 (“carbon dioxide CO2”). Japanese reads it ni, “two”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.

Pinyin
èr
Strokes
2
HSK
1
Radical
二 (“two”)

Stroke by stroke

  1. 1
  2. 2
  1. Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
  2. Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards

Names of the strokes

Japanese and Chinese

Japanese and Chinese draw all 2 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.

12
Japanese · KanjiVG · 2 strokes
12
Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 2 strokes

二 in numbers

  • 二手 — indirectly acquired
  • 二维码 — 2D barcode
  • 二氧化碳 — carbon dioxide CO2
  • 一干二净 — thoroughly (idiom)
  • 数一数二 — (idiom) reckoned to be best or second…

Trace it

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Pinyin and meaning

PinyinMeaningsTraditionalIn words
èr
fourth tone
two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid—二手 二维码 二氧化碳 一干二净
HSK 2025 syllabus
level 1
2021 standard
level 1
HSK 2.0
in a level 1 word
Words with it
236 in CC-CEDICT

Words with 二

WordPinyinMeaning
二èrtwo; 2 HSK 1
二手èrshǒuindirectly acquired; second-hand (information, equipment etc) HSK 5
二维码 二維碼èrwéimǎ2D barcode; matrix code HSK 5
二氧化碳èryǎnghuàtàncarbon dioxide CO2 HSK 6
一干二净 一乾二淨yìgān-èrjìngthoroughly (idiom); completely HSK 7-9
数一数二 數一數二shǔyī-shǔ’èr(idiom) reckoned to be best or second best; one of the very best HSK 7-9
接二连三 接二連三jiē’èr-liánsān(idiom) one after another; in quick succession HSK 7-9
独一无二 獨一無二dúyī-wú’èr(idiom) unique; unmatched HSK 7-9
一二yīèrone or two; a few
不二bùèrthe only (choice, way etc); undivided (loyalty)

HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).

Practice sheet

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Keep going

Contain it:

HSK 1, in list order: