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Trad. 兩
- two
- both
- some
- a few
- tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old)
Trad. 炸兩
- (Cantonese cuisine) zhaliang, rice noodle rolls 腸粉|肠粉[chang2 fen3] stuffed with youtiao 油條|油条[you2 tiao2]
Trad. 兩宋
- the Song dynasty (960-1279)
- refers to the Northern (960-1127) and Southern Song (1128-1279)
Trad. 兩德
- two Germanies
- refers to German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
Trad. 兩性
- male and female
- both types (acid and alkaline, positive and negative etc)
- (chemistry) amphoteric
Trad. 兩手
- one's two hands
- two prongs (of a strategy)
- both aspects, eventualities etc
- skills
- expertise
Trad. 兩會
- National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Trad. 兩極
- the two poles
- the north and south poles
- both ends of sth
- electric or magnetic poles
Trad. 兩河
- the areas to the north and south of the Yellow River (in the Spring and Autumn Period)
- Mesopotamia
Trad. 兩清
- to square accounts (between borrower and lender or between buyer and seller)
Trad. 兩漢
- Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)
- refers to the Western Han and Eastern Han
Trad. 兩訖
- received and paid for (business term); the goods delivered and the bill settled
Trad. 兩院
- two chambers (of legislative assembly), e.g. House of Representatives and Senate
Trad. 兩下子
- a couple of times
- to repeat the same
- the same old trick
- tricks of the trade
Trad. 兩回事
- two quite different things
- two unrelated matters
Trad. 兩江道
- Ryanggang province province in north North Korea, adjacent to Jilin province
Trad. 兩當縣
- Liangdang, a county in Longnan City 隴南市|陇南市[Long3 nan2 Shi4], Gansu
Trad. 兩碼事
- two things that are fundamentally different from each other; two very different things
Trad. 兩重天
- two entirely different worlds; two contrasting realities
Trad. 兩點水
- name of the "ice" radical 冫[bing1] in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 15)
Trad. 人財兩失
- see 人財兩空|人财两空[ren2 cai2 liang3 kong1]
Trad. 人財兩得
- (idiom) to succeed in both love and business
Trad. 人財兩旺
- (idiom) thriving; (of a city) populous and wealthy; (of a family) large and prosperous
Trad. 人財兩空
- (idiom) to suffer the departure of sb (talented staff or one's spouse etc) and a financial loss as well; to get burned both romantically and financially
Trad. 勢不兩立
- the two cannot exist together (idiom); irreconcilable differences
- incompatible standpoints
Trad. 小兩口兒
- erhua variant of 小兩口|小两口[xiao3 liang3 kou3]
Trad. 半斤八兩
- not much to choose between the two
- tweedledum and tweedledee
Trad. 一舉兩得
- one move, two gains (idiom); two birds with one stone
Trad. 左右兩難
- (idiom) between a rock and a hard place
- in a dilemma
Trad. 一拍兩散
- (idiom) (of marriage or business partners) to break up; to separate
Trad. 三瓦兩舍
- places of pleasure (like brothels, tea houses etc)
Trad. 誓不兩立
- the two cannot exist together (idiom); irreconcilable differences
- incompatible standpoints
Trad. 有兩下子
- to have real skill
- to know one's stuff
Trad. 兩不相欠
- to be even
- to be quits
- to be even-steven
Trad. 兩全其美
- to satisfy rival demands (idiom)
- to get the best of both worlds
- to have it both ways
- to have one's cake and eat it too
Trad. 兩國之間
- between the two countries; bilateral
Trad. 兩岸三地
- China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (media term used esp. since 1997)
Trad. 兩廂情願
- both sides are willing
- by mutual consent
Trad. 兩廣總督
- Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi
Trad. 三下兩下
- quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
Trad. 兩彈一星
- (China's achievements of) producing an atomic bomb (1964) and hydrogen bomb (1967) and launching a satellite into space (1970)
Trad. 一身兩役
- one person taking on two tasks simultaneously
Trad. 兩情兩願
- by mutual consent (north China dialect)
Trad. 兩情相悅
- (of a couple) to be harmonious; to be each other's sunshine
Trad. 兩手空空
- empty-handed (idiom); fig. not receiving anything
Trad. 一刀兩斷
- (idiom) to make a clean break with; to have nothing more to do with
Trad. 兩敗俱傷
- both sides suffer (idiom)
- neither side wins
Trad. 首鼠兩端
- (idiom) to hesitate
- to remain undecided
Trad. 兩相情願
- both sides are willing
- by mutual consent
Trad. 三言兩句
- in a few words (idiom); expressed succinctly
Trad. 兩肋插刀
- lit. knifes piercing both sides (idiom)
- fig. to attach a great importance to friendship, up to the point of being able to sacrifice oneself for it
Trad. 進退兩難
- no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
- trapped
- in an impossible situation
Trad. 三言兩語
- in a few words (idiom); expressed succinctly
Trad. 兩虎相爭
- lit. two tigers fighting (idiom)
- fig. fierce contest between evenly matched adversaries
Trad. 兩虎相鬥
- see 兩虎相爭|两虎相争[liang3 hu3 xiang1 zheng1]
Trad. 兩袖清風
- lit. both sleeves flowing in the breeze (idiom); having clean hands
- uncorrupted
- unsoiled by corrupt practices
Trad. 正反兩面
- two-way
- reversible
- both sides of the coin
Trad. 兩面三刀
- two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross
- double dealing and back stabbing
Trad. 一體兩面
- (fig.) two sides of the same coin
Trad. 國共兩黨
- Guomindang 國民黨|国民党[Guo2 min2 dang3] and Chinese Communist Party 共產黨|共产党[Gong4 chan3 dang3]
Trad. 兩頰生津
- mouth-watering
- to whet one's appetite
Trad. 一國兩制
- one country, two systems (PRC proposal regarding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)
Trad. 三長兩短
- unexpected misfortune
- unexpected accident
- sudden death
Trad. 三天兩頭
- lit. twice every three days (idiom); practically every day
- frequently
Trad. 爭斤論兩
- to haggle over every ounce (idiom)
- to to fuss over minor points
- to be particular about sth
Trad. 判若兩人
- to be a different person
- not to be one's usual self
Trad. 漢賊不兩立
- lit. Shu Han 蜀漢|蜀汉[Shu3 Han4] and Cao Wei 曹魏[Cao2 Wei4] cannot coexist (idiom)
- fig. two enemies cannot live under the same sky
- (former KMT slogan against CCP) "gentlemen and thieves cannot coexist"
Trad. 蠟燭兩頭燒
- to burn the candle at both ends (idiom)
- to labor under a double burden
Trad. 腳踏兩條船
- lit. to stand with each foot in a different boat (idiom)
- fig. to have it both ways
- to run after two hares
- (especially) to have two lovers at the same time
Trad. 腳踏兩隻船
- to have a foot in both camps
- to have a bet each way
- to be having an affair
Trad. 腳踩兩隻船
- see 腳踏兩隻船|脚踏两只船[jiao3 ta4 liang3 zhi1 chuan2]
Trad. 兩眼一摸黑
- (of sb in an unfamiliar situation) helpless and disoriented
Trad. 四兩撥千斤
- lit. four ounces can move a thousand catties (idiom)
- fig. to achieve much with little effort
Trad. 著三不著兩
- scatter-brained
- thoughtless
Trad. 一個頭兩個大
- (coll.) to feel as though one's head could explode (Tw)
Trad. 一分錢兩分貨
- high quality at bargain price
Trad. 一回生兩回熟
- see 一回生二回熟[yi1 hui2 sheng1 er4 hui2 shu2]
Trad. 此地無銀三百兩
- lit. 300 silver taels not hidden here (idiom); fig. to reveal what one intends to hide
Trad. 兩手不沾陽春水
- see 十指不沾陽春水|十指不沾阳春水[shi2 zhi3 bu4 zhan1 yang2 chun1 shui3]
Trad. 一次生，兩次熟
- unfamiliar at first but you get used to it
- strangers are first meeting, but soon friends
- an acquired taste
Trad. 兩耳不聞窗外事
- to pay no attention to outside matters
Trad. 一家人不說兩家話
- lit. family members speak frankly with one another, not courteously, as if they were from two different families (idiom)
- fig. people don't need to be deferential when they ask a family member for help
- people from the same family should stick together (and good friends likewise)
Trad. 海峽兩岸關係協會
- PRC Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS)
Trad. 兩國相爭，不斬來使
- when two kingdoms are at war, they don't execute envoys (idiom)
Trad. 兩虎相爭，必有一傷
- lit. if two tigers fight, one will get injured (idiom)
- fig. if you start a war, someone is bound to get hurt
Trad. 兩虎相鬥，必有一傷
- see 兩虎相爭，必有一傷|两虎相争，必有一伤[liang3 hu3 xiang1 zheng1 , bi4 you3 yi1 shang1]
Trad. 三天打魚，兩天曬網
- lit. to fish for three days and sun-dry the nets for two days (proverb)
- fig. not to persevere in doing sth
- to do sth by fits and starts