二に番ばん

に

ば

ん

Meanings

1

second; number two; runner-up

Used for ordinal position, ranking, or the second item in a sequence. Can refer to a person or thing that is second best or the runner-up in a competition.

彼かれはマラソンで二に番ばんだった。
He came in second in the marathon.
二に番ばん目めの問もん題だいが一いち番ばん難むずかしかった。
The second question was the hardest.

See all 29 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉の二に番ばんを歌うたうto sing the second verse (of a song)
歌うたの二に番ばんを忘わすれてしまった。
I forgot the second verse of the song.
〈人ひと〉が二に番ばんになるto come in second (place)
彼かれはマラソンで二に番ばんになった。
He came in second in the marathon.

Kanji

二two, two radical (no. 7)
番turn, number in a series

Related words

二に位い
二位 is the formal term specifically for 'second place' in a ranking, while 二番 is a broader, more everyday word for 'second' that can also label sequence items like song verses.
二に号ごう
二号 labels something as the officially numbered 'No. 2' in a series, while 二番 more generally means 'second' in order, rank, or turn.

Opposites

一いち番ばんN5
一番 means 'first' or 'number one', the direct ordinal opposite of 二番 'second'.

Don't confuse with

二に番ばん目め
二番目 explicitly marks ordinal position ('the second one in a series'), whereas 二番 is often used as a plain label (e.g. the second verse of a song, a sumo bout number) without emphasizing sequence.

Word family· 10

二に番ばん煎せんじ
rehash; boring rerun; stale imitation · second brew of tea
二に番ばん作さく
second crop
二に番ばん底ぞこ
double dip; double-dip recession; second bottom; double bottom
二に番ばん星ぼし
second star of the evening
二に番ばん目め
second (in a series)

Show 5 more

二に番ばん茶ちゃ
second-grade tea; second picking tea
二に番ばん出しゅっ世せ
second-round debut wrestlers
二に番ばん刈かり
second crop; aftermath
二に番ばん抵てい当とう
second mortgage
水みず入いり二に番ばん後ご撮とり直なおし
rematch after a long bout

Written forms

二に番ばん
Standard kanji spelling; high frequency in news and general use.
２に番ばん
Numerical variant common in lists, rankings, and informal writing.

Etymology

Compound of 二 (ni, 'two') and 番 (ban, 'number' or 'order').