A two-stroke engine possesses a cylinder, in the cylinder bore of which a combustion chamber is formed. The combustion chamber is bounded by a reciprocating piston, which drives a crankshaft rotatably mounted in a crankcase. A crankcase interior is fluidically connected to the combustion chamber across at least one transfer channel in at least one position of the piston. The at least one transfer channel emerges with a discharge opening in the crankcase interior and with at least one transfer window on the cylinder bore. It is proposed that all transfer channels have an average length as measured from the discharge opening to the transfer window, the average length being at least 1.5 in relation to the stroke, and that the volume of the crankcase interior including all transfer channels is at most 3.1 in relation to the piston displacement.