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双子 (ふたご, futago) Japanese meaning: twins | Kotomora
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I have an older twin brother.
Even though they are twins, their personalities are completely different.
Usage patterns 双ふた 子ご を 産う む to give birth to twins
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
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
Kanji 子 child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM 二 two, two radical (no. 7) Related words 双生児 is a formal, medical-sounding term for twins, while 双子 is the everyday word used in daily conversation.
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.
Counted with Used for counting the two people; 双子 itself is a pair of people, so 人 is the natural counter.
Can be used when referring to twins as a set/pair rather than individual people.
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.
They are identical twins and look very much alike.
Practical kana spelling, often used when a softer or easier-to-read style is preferred.
二ふた 子ご Usage 5%
Attested kanji spelling, uncommon for the ordinary word 'twins'.
ふた 子ご Usage 1%
Attested mixed kana-kanji spelling, but much less common than 双子.
