2 in Japanese
二
Updated June 2026
2 in Japanese is 二, written に in hiragana and read ni. Ni everywhere, but futari and futatsu break the pattern
NUMERAL
2
KANJI
二
HIRAGANA
に
ROMAJI
ni
Counter-attached forms
How 2 attaches to common counters. Each links to the per-counter deep-dive.
Cultural context
Two has no unlucky reading, unlike 4 and 9, and the word 二人 (futari) is the everyday word for a couple or a pair. In cash-gift etiquette, though, even amounts are traditionally avoided at weddings because an even number can be "divided" (split), so 2 is passed over in favour of odd amounts like 3. Source: Wikipedia "Japanese superstitions".
Daiji formal form (for cheques and contracts)
Real sentence examples
二人で映画を見に行きました (futari de eiga o mi ni ikimashita): the two of us went to see a film.
二時に電話します (ni-ji ni denwa shimasu): I’ll call at 2 o’clock.
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Two is ni in almost every counter: ni-hon, ni-mai, ni-ko, ni-hiki, ni-sai, ni-en, ni-ji. The two exceptions are the native forms: 二人 is futari (not ni-nin) for two people, and the general native counter is futatsu (二つ). The daiji form 弐 appears on cheques and contracts to stop 二 being altered into 三 (3) or 十 (10).
Frequently asked questions
How do you write 2 in Japanese?
2 is written 二 in kanji and に in hiragana. In romaji (modified Hepburn) it is ni.
What is 2 in hiragana?
2 in hiragana is に. Hiragana spells out the reading ni phonetically; the kanji form is 二.
What is the formal (daiji) form of 2?
The daiji form of 2 is 弐. Daiji are elaborate kanji used on cheques, contracts, and official documents to stop anyone altering the simpler 二.
Related numbers
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