1.
twins
Two children born at the same birth.
彼女は双子の母親だ。
She is a mother of twins.
双子なのに全然似ていない。
Even though they're twins, they don't look alike at all.
双子の姉妹がクラスにいる。
There are twin sisters in the class.
双子を育てるのは大変だが、二人で遊んでくれるので助かる。
Raising twins is hard, but it helps that they play together.
双子の兄弟は顔がそっくりで、先生でさえ間違えることがある。
The twin brothers look so alike that even their teacher sometimes mistakes one for the other.
双子 is the everyday word for twins. Formed from 二つ + 子.
TYPES:
- 一卵性双生児: identical twins
- 二卵性双生児: fraternal twins
Note: 双生児 is the formal/medical term for twins.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 双子の兄弟: twin brothers/siblings
- 双子の姉妹: twin sisters
- 双子を育てる: to raise twins
RELATED:
- 三つ子: triplets
- 四つ子: quadruplets
- 双子座: Gemini (zodiac sign)
PROVERB:
三つ子の魂百まで — "The character formed by age three lasts to a hundred" (here 三つ子 means "a three-year-old," not "triplets").