両りょう雄ゆう

りょ

う

ゆ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

two great men; two heroes; two rivals

Refers to two outstanding, powerful, or heroic figures, often in a context of rivalry or comparison. Common in historical, political, or literary contexts.

戦せん国ごく時じ代だいの両りょう雄ゆう、信のぶ長ながと秀ひで吉よしを比ひ較かくする。
Compare the two great men of the Warring States period, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi.
両りょう雄ゆう並ならび立たたず。
Two great rivals cannot coexist.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

両りょう雄ゆうが激げき突とつするtwo great rivals clash
決けっ勝しょう戦せんでは両りょう雄ゆうが激げき突とつした。
In the final, the two great rivals clashed.
両りょう雄ゆうの対たい決けつa showdown between two great rivals
今こん大たい会かい最さい大だいの見みどころは両りょう雄ゆうの対たい決けつだ。
The biggest highlight of this tournament is the showdown between the two great rivals.

Expressions

両りょう雄ゆう並ならび立たたずtwo great rivals cannot coexist

Kanji

両both, old Japanese coin, counter for carriages (e.g., in a train)
雄masculine, male, hero

Related words

双そう璧へき
双璧 describes two people or things of equally outstanding quality without implying rivalry, while 両雄 specifically frames two great figures as rivals or competitors.
好こう敵てき手しゅ
好敵手 refers to a single well-matched rival from one person's viewpoint, whereas 両雄 names both outstanding figures together as a pair.

Don't confuse with

英えい雄ゆうN2
英雄 means a single great hero, while 両雄 (built from the same 雄 character) specifically means two such heroes, often set against each other.

Etymology

Compound of 両 (both, two) and 雄 (male, hero, great man). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used in classical Chinese and Japanese to denote two prominent figures.