両
両 — Both
both, old Japanese coin, counter for carriages (e.g., in a train), two
On’yomiリョウ (ryou)
Kun’yomiてる (teru)
Kun’yomiふたつ (futatsu)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 両
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 両国 | りょうこく ryoukoku | both countries; Ryōgoku (area of Tokyo) |
| 両党 | りょうとう ryoutou | both (political) parties |
| 両親 | りょうしん ryoushin | parents; both parents |
| 車両 | しゃりょう sharyou | (wheeled) vehicle; car; (railroad) car |
| 両院 | りょういん ryouin | both houses of parliament; both upper and lower house |
| 両氏 | りょうし ryoushi | both persons |
Study notes
両 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #247 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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