同辈 (tóng bèi) — people of the same generation; contemporary (in age or status)

Definition

A formal/literary noun for people of the same generation — peers in age or social status. More written than 平辈 or 同龄人, and broader than 同龄 (same age, not status).

noun
people of the same generationcontemporary (in age or status)

Examples

  • 同辈，。
    Tā hé wǒ fù qīn shì tóng bèi, dàn nián líng chà hěn duō.
    He and my father are of the same generation, but there's a big age difference.
  • ，同辈。
    Zài dān wèi lǐ, wǒ hé jǐ wèi tóng bèi hé zuò dé bú cuò.
    At work, I get along well with several colleagues of the same generation.
  • 同辈。
    Zhōng guó de tóng bèi zhī jiān cháng cháng yǒu xiāng sì de chéng zhǎng jīng lì.
    People of the same generation in China often have similar growing-up experiences.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

同tóngsame
辈bèigeneration

同 means same and 辈 means generation or peer group, so 同辈 refers to people of the same generation.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 輩; 辈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jū
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi輩bèi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輩 pairs 車 (vehicle) with 非, which gives the sound; this describes 輩, not the simplified 辈.

Open 辈 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.