Definition
同志 (tóng zhì) has two distinct meanings: (1) 'comrade' — a formal, political term of address used in Communist Party or revolutionary contexts, not a general word for 'companion' like 伙伴 or 同伴; (2) (slang) 'gay person', used in LGBTQ+ contexts. It is not interchangeable with 战友 (comrade-in-arms) or 同伙 (accomplice).
noun
comrade (political/formal term of address)(slang) gay personhomosexual
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
- 通知tōng zhīsound-alike(verb) to notify, to inform
- 统治tǒng zhìsound-aliketo rule, to govern
Examples
- 同志，。Gè wèi tóng zhì, wǒmen yìqǐ lái wánchéng rènwu.Comrades, let's complete the task together.
- 同志。Zhè wèi lǎo tóng zhì cānjiā guò Chángzhēng.This old comrade participated in the Long March.
- 同志。Tā zài shèjiāo méitǐ shàng gōngkāi le zìjǐ de tóng zhì shēnfèn.He publicly came out as gay on social media.
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