Translation guide
The delivery of more than one baby from a single pregnancy. In Japanese, the term depends on the number of babies born.
Referring to the event or phenomenon of giving birth to multiple babies at once.
The standard medical and general term for multiple birth.
多胎出産の確率は年々上がっている。
The rate of multiple births is increasing year by year.
More clinical term, often used in medical contexts.
多胎分娩はリスクが高いとされる。
Multiple birth is considered high risk.
Describing the birth of twins, triplets, etc.
Twins. The most common type of multiple birth.
彼女は双子を出産した。
She gave birth to twins.
Triplets.
Quadruplets.
四つ子の誕生がニュースになった。
The birth of quadruplets made the news.
Quintuplets.
五つ子の家族は珍しい。
Families with quintuplets are rare.
Referring to the state of being pregnant with more than one baby.
Multiple pregnancy. Used when the focus is on the pregnancy rather than the birth.
多胎妊娠と診断された。
I was diagnosed with a multiple pregnancy.
Japanese has specific words for twins, triplets, quadruplets, and quintuplets. For higher-order multiples, the pattern continues with the native Japanese number + つ子 (e.g., 六つ子 for sextuplets), but these are extremely rare and often replaced by the medical term 多胎児 (たたいじ).
Raising triplets is tough.