Definitions

liáo (noun) colleague; coworker
liáo (noun) official; bureaucrat

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "僚" originated in early Chinese with the specific sense of a government official or attendant, constructed from the person radical "亻" to indicate human association and the component "尞" functioning primarily as a phonetic element. Its meaning later expanded beyond administrative contexts to denote colleagues or associates, as seen in terms like "同僚" for fellow workers and "官僚" for bureaucratic systems, reflecting a semantic shift from a designated role to a broader relational concept. The structural integrity of "僚" has consistently relied on the combination of "亻" and "尞" throughout its historical usage.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我和同一起工作。

Wǒ hé tóngliáo yīqǐ gōngzuò.

I work with my colleagues.

这些官效率很低。

Zhèxiē guānliáo xiàolǜ hěn dī.

These bureaucrats are very inefficient.

公司里的同都很友好。

Gōngsī lǐ de tóngliáo dōu hěn yǒuhǎo.

The colleagues in the company are all friendly.

作为幕,他提供了很多建议。

Zuòwéi mùliáo, tā tígōngle hěnduō jiànyì.

As an advisor, he provided many suggestions.

体制需要改革以提高透明度。

Guānliáo tǐzhì xūyào gǎigé yǐ tígāo tòumíngdù.

The bureaucratic system needs reform to improve transparency.

如果同之间缺乏沟通,项目就会延迟。

Rúguǒ tóngliáo zhījiān quēfá gōutōng, xiàngmù jiù huì yánchí.

If there is a lack of communication among colleagues, the project will be delayed.

这位政治幕在政策制定中扮演关键角色。

Zhè wèi zhèngzhì mùliáo zài zhèngcè zhìdìng zhōng bànyǎn guānjiàn juésè.

This political advisor plays a key role in policy making.

尽管官作风备受批评,但某些情况下它也能确保程序公正。

Jǐnguǎn guānliáo zuòfēng bèishòu pīpíng, dàn mǒu xiē qíngkuàng xià tā yě néng quèbǎo chéngxù gōngzhèng.

Although bureaucratic practices are often criticized, in some cases they can also ensure procedural fairness.