colleague, official, companion
On'yomi (音読み)
- リョウ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
—
About this kanji
The kanji 僚 (りょう) primarily means "colleague" or "companion." It is often used in compound words rather than as a standalone term. For example, 同僚 (どうりょう) means "coworker," while 官僚 (かんりょう) refers to a "bureaucrat," a government official often involved in administrative tasks. Another example is 閣僚 (かくりょう), which means "cabinet ministers," those who are part of the executive branch of government. This kanji does not have a kun'yomi reading, so it is typically used in an on'yomi context. A helpful note is that all these compounds relate to roles within organizations or governance, emphasizing the concept of working together.
Example sentences
彼は私の仕事仲間である僚です。
He is my work colleague.
Meanings across languages
- English
- colleague, official, companion
- Tiếng Việt
- đồng nghiệp, công chức, bạn
- 日本語
- 同僚, 公務員, 仲間
- 한국어
- 동료, 공무원, 동반자
- 中文
- 同事, 官员, 伙伴
- id
- kolega, resmi
- th
- เพื่อนร่วมงาน, เจ้าหน้าที่
- es
- colega, oficial
- fr
- collègue, fonctionnaire
- de
- Kollege, Beamter
- pt
- colega, oficial
Common compounds
- 閣僚かくりょうcabinet ministers
- 官僚かんりょうbureaucrat, government official, bureaucracy
- 同僚どうりょうcoworker, co-worker, colleague
- 幕僚ばくりょうstaff, staff officer
- 僚友りょうゆうcolleague, workmate, comrade
- 統合幕僚会議とうごうばくりょうかいぎJoint Staff Council
- 僚船りょうせんconsort ship
- 下僚かりょうsubordinates, petty officials
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.