双ふた子ご

also: そうし

ふ

た

ご

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

Refers either to the pair of children born from the same pregnancy or to one member of such a pair. Commonly used as 双子の兄, 双子の姉妹, 双子を産む, and similar expressions.

彼かの女じょは双ふた子ごを産うんだ。
She gave birth to twins.
私わたしには双ふた子ごの兄あにがいる。
I have an older twin brother.
双ふた子ごでも性せい格かくは全ぜん然ぜん違ちがう。
Even though they are twins, their personalities are completely different.

See all 70 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

双ふた子ごを産うむto give birth to twins
彼かの女じょは先せん月げつ、双ふた子ごを産うんだ。
She gave birth to twins last month.
〈人ひと〉の双ふた子ごの兄あに／姉あね／弟おとうと／妹いもうとsomeone's twin brother/sister
彼かれは私わたしの双ふた子ごの弟おとうとです。
He is my twin brother.
一いち卵らん性せい／二に卵らん性せいの双ふた子ごidentical / fraternal twins
彼かれらは一いち卵らん性せいの双ふた子ごで、顔かおがとてもよく似にている。
They are identical twins and look very much alike.

Kanji

双pair, set, comparison
子child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM
二two, two radical (no. 7)

Related words

双そう生せい児じ
双生児 is a formal, medical-sounding term for twins, while 双子 is the everyday word used in daily conversation.
ツイン
双子 is the ordinary native Japanese word for human twins, while ツイン sounds more loanword-like and appears mainly in compounds, product names, and hotel terminology.

Don't confuse with

三みつ子ご
三つ子 means triplets (three children from one pregnancy), whereas 双子 refers specifically to twins (two).

Counted with

人にん
Used for counting the two people; 双子 itself is a pair of people, so 人 is the natural counter.
組くみN3
Can be used when referring to twins as a set/pair rather than individual people.

Word family

双ふた子ご星ぼし
binary star
双ふた子ご語ご
twin talk; cryptophasia; idioglossia
双ふた子ごのパラドックス
twin paradox

Written forms

双子Usage86%
- ふたご
  Standard and common spelling for 'twin' or 'twins'.
- そうし
  Attested alternate on-yomi reading of 双子; learners should normally read this word as ふたご.
ふたごUsage8%
Practical kana spelling, often used when a softer or easier-to-read style is preferred.
二ふた子ごUsage5%
Attested kanji spelling, uncommon for the ordinary word 'twins'.
ふた子ごUsage1%
Attested mixed kana-kanji spelling, but much less common than 双子.
そうし

Etymology

Native Japanese reading ふたご combines the idea of 'two' with 子 'child'; the spelling 双子 conventionally represents a pair of children. The alternate reading そうし is the Sino-Japanese reading of the same characters.