Word · Frequency #22146
twains
两；一对；一双
twains is the plural of twain.
a pair; two items of the same kind
- 1.
Pair, couple.
一对,情侣
一对,情侣；二；两；一对
In use
At the reunion, the twain, old classmates, promised to meet again next year.
For the ceremony, she placed a twain of white candles on the table.
The old photograph shows the twain, both in raincoats, standing by the river.
in twain
固定短语，意为'成两半'，常用于文学或正式语境。
The river split the valley in twain.
河流把山谷分成两半。
the twain (archaic noun, referring to two previously mentioned entities)
the twain 特指前文提到的两个事物或人，常见于文学引语。
East and West, the twain shall never meet.
东方和西方，这两者永不相遇。
twain as a noun (archaic, countable)
该用法非常古老，现代英语中常用 couple 或 pair。
They were a happy twain.
他们是幸福的一对。
Common mistakes
I have twain cats.I have two cats.
“twain” 是名词，意为“一对”或“两个同类事物”，不能直接作定语修饰名词。表示数量“两个”时，应用数词“two”。
They are twain sisters.They are twin sisters.
“twin” 表示“双胞胎之一”或“成双的”，而“twain”仅指数量“二”，不包含“双胞胎”含义。描述双胞胎姐妹时应使用“twin”。
Connections
Collocations
- the twain
- 两者；二人
- Never the twain shall meet.两者永远不会相遇。
- in twain
- 成两半；一分为二
- The boat was split in twain by the massive wave.小船被巨浪劈成两半。
- cleave in twain
- 劈成两半
- The warrior's axe cleft the enemy's helmet in twain.武士的斧头将敌人的头盔劈成两半。
Idioms & figurative uses
- never the twain shall meet
- 两者永不相交；两者截然不同，无法调和He is a strict businessman and she is a free-spirited artist — never the twain shall meet.他是一位严谨的商人，而她是一位无拘无束的艺术家——两者永远无法相合。
- in twain
- 成两半；一分为二The ancient bridge was split in twain by the flood.那座古桥被洪水劈成了两半。
Pop culture & quotes
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想：twain 像 two 加 one，两人合成一对，记住“一对、情侣”。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：literary works、poetry、historical fiction 该词表示“一对；成对的人或物”，是古旧、偏文学的用语，现代英语中很少出现，多用于诗歌、仿古或历史题材文本里，日常交流中基本不用。
Grammar Note
古语，常用于短语 in twain
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都以 -ain 结尾，读作 /eɪn/，与 twain /tweɪn/ 押韵。注意 again 常读作 /əˈɡen/，mountain 读作 /ˈmaʊntən/，虽然也含 -ain，但不押韵。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.