会同 (huì tóng) — to handle jointly (with other organizations); to coordinate and act together in an official capacity

Definition

Official/formal verb meaning 'to handle jointly with another body.' Found in government and institutional writing, never in casual speech.

verb
to handle jointly (with other organizations)to coordinate and act together in an official capacity

Examples

  • 会同。
    Cǐ shì jiāng yóu běn gōng sī yǔ hé zuò fāng huì tóng chǔ lǐ.
    This matter will be handled jointly by our company and the partner.
  • 会同。
    Zhèng fǔ bù mén huì tóng xiāng guān jī gòu zhì dìng le xīn zhèng cè.
    Government departments jointly formulated the new policy with relevant agencies.
  • 会同。
    Liǎng xiào huì tóng jǔ bàn le yì chǎng xué shù yán tǎo huì.
    The two schools jointly held an academic seminar.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

会huìmeet
同tóngtogether

会 and 同 both point to joining in action, giving the sense of handling something together.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

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