二一

èryī

phrase #34,247

Meanings

1 two-one (numeric reading, e.g. 21, 2-1 score)
2 shortened reference to dates such as February 1st
3 first half of the abacus mnemonic 二一添作五 ('split it down the middle')

Characters

Examples

比赛二一结束。

Bǐsài èryī jiéshù.

The match ended two to one.

二一添作五，咱们各拿一半。

Èryī tiān zuò wǔ, zánmen gè ná yíbàn.

Two-one make five (i.e. split it 50-50) — we each take half.

Tips

culture

Most often surfaces inside the abacus saying 二一添作五 (èryī-tiānzuò-wǔ), originally a division formula (1÷2=0.5) that became idiom for splitting something evenly. As bare 二一 it usually just means a sports score (2-1) or a clipped date.

Stroke Order

二 èr

一 yī