僚

liáo

亻 + 尞

Definitions

liáo (noun) colleague; coworker

liáo (noun) official; bureaucrat

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 尞 represents the sound.

Semantic: 亻 Phonetic: 尞

About

僚 combines 亻 (person) on the left, signaling that the meaning relates to people or human roles, with 尞 on the right as the phonetic component. It originally referred to government officials or bureaucratic subordinates within a formal administrative structure. Over time, the meaning broadened to describe colleagues or associates in any professional setting, moving beyond strict government hierarchies.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我和同僚一起工作。

Wǒ hé tóngliáo yīqǐ gōngzuò.

I work with my colleagues.

这些官僚效率很低。

Zhèxiē guānliáo xiàolǜ hěn dī.

These bureaucrats are very inefficient.

公司里的同僚都很友好。

Gōngsī lǐ de tóngliáo dōu hěn yǒuhǎo.

The colleagues in the company are all friendly.

作为幕僚，他提供了很多建议。

Zuòwéi mùliáo, tā tígōngle hěnduō jiànyì.

As an advisor, he provided many suggestions.

官僚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.

如果同僚之间缺乏沟通，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.

这位政治幕僚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.

尽管官僚作风备受批评，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.

Related Characters

Component: 亻

Component: 尞

僚