二

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 二時に会いましょう。▶ —
   Lets meet at two.
2. 二人で散歩した。▶ —
   The two of us went for a walk.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Ni-two (二) is the on-yomi for two; Yamato readings are futatsu (2 items), futsuka (2nd of month, covered earlier), and futari (2 people, dedicated Yamato counter). Mixed on-yomi and Yamato pattern: ni-ji (2 oclock, on-yomi), ni-gatsu (February, on-yomi), futari (2 people, Yamato, paired with hitori for 1 person). Cultural senses: ninin sankyaku (two-person three-leg race, the canonical cooperative-metaphor sports-day game), nisha takuitsu (binary choice), nido to (never again, intensifier), the kanji 二 marking yin-yang duality — nigenron (dualism), ryoushin (parents, with 両 a variant of 二). Japanese politics: nidai seitousei (two-party system, modeled on the US and UK). A homophone hazard: 二 (ni) collides with the particle ni (に), disambiguated by stress and context. Korean i (2) similarly homophones with surname I (李), conjunctive i (以), and idiosyncratic readings — the same hazard pattern in both languages.

Quick check

1. Correct Japanese for "two people"?

   • Futari (二人, dedicated Yamato reading)
   • Ninin (二人, on-yomi)
   • Nisha (二者)
   • Nikojin (二個人)