TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
兩
ㄌㄧㄤˇ · liǎng
num — two (of); noun — tael
字源 FORM — what the parts do
兩形a double yoke — one beam, two loops side by side
A chariot yoke: one beam, two loops hanging side by side — one for each horse of the pair. 兩 does the counting in front of measure words: 兩個人、兩隻手、兩天; on the scale it became the tael, 一兩、半兩.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
橫木架上車轅，兩匹馬一左一右套進去——正好一對。
The beam drops onto the cart-tongue; two horses step into the loops, one left, one right — a matched pair.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)成對的二（兩個）— two of — a matched pair常用
→一兩（重量）— the tael — the old weight on the scale
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension