DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

三三兩兩

简三三两两 · 繁三三兩兩

Mandarin · pinyin sān sān liǎng liǎng

in twos and threes

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–3–3 · san1 san1 liang3 liang3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

三三兩兩 · find source passages ↗ · 三三两两 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

scattered; by ones and twos

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack