1.
amphibious; living both in water and on land
A compound element meaning "living in two environments," built from 両 (both) + 生 (life, living). It almost never stands alone, appearing instead inside compounds such as 両生類 (amphibians).
両生 literally means "living both ways," describing an organism that lives in water and on land. It is a bound compound element, not a free-standing word.
Compounds
- 両生類: amphibians (frogs, toads, newts, salamanders)
- 両生的: amphibious (figurative, of things or people that operate in two different domains)
Watch out
Used alone, 両生 sounds incomplete to native speakers; it is almost always attached to 類 or 的.