Meaning of 同事
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- colleague; co-worker
How to use 同事
同事 is the everyday word for a co-worker, used for anyone at your workplace regardless of rank. It often appears with 我的 or with 们 for a group. Example: 他是我的同事。(Tā shì wǒ de tóngshì.) He is my colleague.
同 (tóng) means same and 事 (shì) means work or matter. A 同事 is a person who does the same work as you, in the same place.
Common mistake: Learners often read the second syllable with a neutral tone, but 同事 is tóngshì with a full fourth tone on 事. Also do not mix it up with 同学 (tóngxué), which is for classmates, not people you work with.
同事 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
同 tóng · like · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
事 shì · matter · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 同事.
| 同学 | tóngxué | to study at the same school; fellow student |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 事情 | shìqing | affair; matter; thing; business |
| 故事 | gùshi | old practice |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; distinct |
| 同样 | tóngyàng | same; equal; similar; similarly; also; too |
| 同时 | tóngshí | at the same time; simultaneously |
| 好事 | hǎoshì | good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity |
| 相同 | xiāngtóng | identical; same |
| 同意 | tóngyì | to agree; to consent |
| 事实 | shìshí | fact |
| 事实上 | shìshíshang | in fact; in reality |
Questions about 同事
What does 同事 mean?
同事 (tóngshì) means "colleague; co-worker" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 同事?
同事 is made of 2 characters: 同 (6 strokes), 事 (8 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 同事 an HSK word?
Yes. 同事 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 同事 be used as a verb?
Yes, in some sentences it can mean to work together, as in 我们同事三年了 (wǒmen tóngshì sān nián le), we have worked together for three years. In daily speech it is mostly used as a noun.
What is the difference between 同事 and 朋友?
同事 (tóngshì) only says you work at the same place. 朋友 (péngyou) means friend, so a colleague you are close to might be described as 同事 and also 朋友.