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同伙 (tóng huǒ) — (noun) accomplice, partner in crime; (verb) to be in league with, to conspire

Definition

同伙 (tónghuǒ) is specifically an accomplice in wrongdoing — stronger and more criminal than 同事 ('coworker') or 同伴 ('companion'), and refers to a partner, not a whole group like 团伙 ('gang').

noun
accomplicepartner in crime
verb
to be in league withto conspire

Examples

  • 同伙。
    Jǐng chá zài zhǎo tā de tóng huǒ.
    The police are looking for his accomplices.
  • 同伙。
    Tā tóng huǒ wài rén tōu le gōng sī de qián.
    He conspired with outsiders to steal the company's money.
  • 同伙。
    Tā bù xiǎng zài dāng bié rén de tóng huǒ le.
    He doesn't want to be someone else's accomplice anymore.

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
伙huǒpartner/group

「同」means same and 「伙」refers to a partner or group, giving the idea of an accomplice.

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 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & Police5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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