How to say "pair" in Japanese

• 二人ふたりJLPT N5approx.Common
  nounCounts two people; its 'pair' sense is limited to pairs of human beings, such as a couple or two people acting together, and it is not used for pairs of objects.
  二人ふたりの男おとこは刑務所けいむしょから釈放しゃくほうされた。↗

  The two men were released from jail.
• 対ついCommon
  nounA pair understood as one matched set: two things (or a couple) that belong together and are treated as a unit rather than as two separate items.
• ペアJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe katakana loanword for a pair or set of two; used freely for people or things treated as a unit, as when two people are paired up for an activity.
• 両者りょうしゃCommon
  nounNot a pair as an object or unit: it means 'the two (parties)' or 'both', referring back to two people or things already mentioned in a discussion; a marginal match for 'pair'.
  両者りょうしゃの溝みぞが狭せばまった。↗

  The gap between them has narrowed.
• コンビCommon
  nounAn abbreviated loanword meaning a duo: two people who team up and are thought of as a unit; it gives 'pair' for people in combination, not for objects.

Use 二人 for two people, 対 or 「ペア」 for a matched set of two (people or things), 「コンビ」 for two people teaming up, and 両者 only to mean 'both' of two already-mentioned parties, not a pair as a unit.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 二人ふたりtwo persons
• 対ついpair
• ペアpair
• 両者りょうしゃpair
• コンビcombination
• 双そうpair
• 二通りふたとおりpair
• 一対いっついpair
• つがいpair (esp. of mated animals)
• 二人組ふたりぐみtwosome
• 対偶たいぐうpair
• 一双いっそうpair (esp. of folding screens)
• ひとつがいpair
• 対子トイツpair
• 雀頭ジャントーpair (as part of a winning hand, together with four melds)
• 付け合せるつけあわせるto garnish
• 夫婦めおとset of two (one large, one small)
• 一膳いちぜんpair (of chopsticks)
• 頭あたまpair