两岸 liǎng’àn bilateral
bilateral; both shores; both sides; both coasts; Taiwan and mainland
How to remember 两岸: 两 two + 岸 beach = bilateral.
Characters
How it is used
- Literally 'both banks' of a river - 两岸风景 (liǎng'àn fēngjǐng) the scenery on both shores.
- Politically, the fixed shorthand for mainland China and Taiwan - 两岸关系 (liǎng'àn guānxi) cross-strait relations; heavily used in news.
- Context decides which sense: geography vs the Taiwan Strait.
Example sentences
- 两岸是否会统一呢？ Liǎng'Àn shìfǒu huì tǒngyī ne?Will the mainland and Taiwan be reunified?
- 这座大桥连接起两岸的交通。 Zhèi zuò dàqiáo liánjiē qǐ Liǎng'àn de jiāotōng.This bridge links traffic from both sides.