Partition interpretation of Gaussian binomial coefficients ($G_{n,k}(t)={\sum }_{\lambda \subseteq k\times (n-k)}{t}^{|\lambda |}$)

The Young diagrams of partitions in a rectangle with at most $k$ rows and at most $n-k$ cells in each row correspond to the lattice paths in the lattice-path interpretation of Gaussian binomial coefficients. Read the shaded row lengths from top to bottom; the result is a nonincreasing list of nonnegative integers. This bijection preserves the number $|\lambda |$ of cells.

In a two-by-two rectangle, the possibilities are the empty integer partition, $(1)$, $(2)$, $(1,1)$, $(2,1)$, and $(2,2)$. Their sizes are $0,1,2,2,3,4$, giving $G_{4,2}(t)$. In particular, there are two allowed diagrams of size two, explaining the middle coefficient.^[ref]