二人(ふたり)

ふたり
noun
two people
1. two people
The counter for two people, using an irregular reading.
二人(ふたり)います。
There are two people.
二人(ふたり)ください。
Table for two, please.
At a restaurant
子(こ)どもが二人(ふたり)います。
I have two children.
友達(ともだち)が二人(ふたり)来(き)ました。
Two friends came.
この部屋(へや)には二人(ふたり)しか入(はい)れません。
Only two people can enter this room.
2. together (as a pair)
Often used to mean 'the two of us/them together.'
二人(ふたり)で食(た)べます。
The two of us will eat together.
二人(ふたり)で話(はな)しましょう。
Let's talk, just the two of us.
二人(ふたり)でどこに行(い)きますか。
Where are the two of you going?
二人(ふたり)は仲(なか)がいいですね。
The two of you get along well.
二人(ふたり)で協力(きょうりょく)すれば、この仕事(しごと)は早(はや)く終(お)わります。
If the two of us work together, this job will finish quickly.

二人(ふたり) uses the native Japanese reading, not the on'yomi ににん. This is an irregular counter that must be memorized.

IRREGULAR PEOPLE COUNTERS:

  • 一人(ひとり): one person
  • 二人(ふたり): two people
  • 三人(さんにん) and above: regular readings

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 二人(ふたり)で: together (as a pair)
  • 二人(ふたり)とも: both of them
  • 二人(ふたり)暮(ぐ)らし: living as a couple
  • 二人(ふたり)連(づ)れ: a party of two

USAGE NOTE:
二人(ふたり)で emphasizes doing something as a pair, often implying intimacy or exclusivity: 二人(ふたり)で話(はな)しましょう (Let's talk, just the two of us).

basic
Added 2026.1.7 21:50 · Revised 2026.2.12 13:27
00500/00622_futari