The Meaning of dōryō [同僚] In Japanese

同僚
どうりょう
Romaji: dōryō N4

What does 同僚 mean?

Translation and Meaning

colleague, coworker

Definition

同僚 (dōryō) means a person who works at the same company or workplace—a coworker or colleague. It refers to someone who shares a professional environment with you, typically within the same organization, regardless of department or seniority, and is used in everyday business conversation and introductions.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • primary meaning: a person who works at the same company or organization.
  • scope: can refer to coworkers within the same department or across the organization, including new hires or long‑standing staff.
  • boundaries: not typically used for close friends outside work or for people from different companies.

Composition

  • 同 = same
  • 僚 = fellow, colleague
  • Combination: together they form the concept of someone who shares the same workplace or organizational circle

Usage

Used to describe someone who shares the same workplace; suitable for formal documents, emails, meetings, and introductions; used with colleagues across departments or roles, with tone ranging from neutral to polite.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: visualize two coworkers sharing the same desk, illustrating 同 (same) and 僚 (fellow) and linking it to dōryō as a reminder of ‘same workplace’.

Variations

  • 同僚 (dōryō) — coworker, main term
  • 職場の仲間 (しょくばのなかま, shokuba no nakama) — workplace companion
  • 同期 (dōki) — peers hired at the same time
  • 上司 (じょうし, jōshi) — superior; antonym in workplace hierarchy

Example Phrases

  • 同僚 と 昼ごはん を 食べた 後、 資料 を 確認 した。
    dōryō to hiru gohan o tabeta ato, shiryō o kakunin shita.
    After having lunch with a colleague, I checked the documents.
    Lista:
    • 同僚 (dōryō) – colleague
    • と (to) – and/with
    • 昼ごはん (hiru gohan) – lunch
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 食べた (tabeta) – ate
    • 後 (ato) – after
    • 資料 (shiryō) – documents
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 確認 (kakunin) – check
    • した (shita) – did
    「同僚」は職場の仲間を指す名詞で、ここでは「と」で一緒に行動する意味を示す。
  • 同僚は欲深いので、ボーナスの話をしつこく求める。
    Dōryō wa yokubukai node, bōnasu no hanashi o shitsukoku motomeru.
    A coworker is greedy, so they persistently push for a talk about the bonus.
    Lista:
    • 同僚 (Dōryō) – coworker
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 欲深い (yokubukai) – greedy
    • ので (node) – because; so
    • ボーナス (bōnasu) – bonus
    • の (no) – possessive
    • 話を (hanashi o) – talk
    • しつこく (shitsukoku) – persistently
    • 求める (motomeru) – to seek
    Core point: 「欲深い」 is an i-adjective meaning ‘greedy’; here it describes a person and links with ので to explain the reason.
  • 職場では、 言葉遣いに 気をつけて、 同僚に 丁寧に 話す。
    Shokuba de wa, kotoba zukai ni ki o tsukete, dōryō ni teinei ni hanasu.
    In the workplace, I watch my wording and speak politely to my colleagues.
    Lista:
    • 職場では (shokuba de wa) – in the workplace
    • 言葉遣いに (kotoba zukai ni) – wording
    • 気をつけて (ki o tsukete) – be careful
    • 同僚に (dōryō ni) – to colleagues
    • 丁寧に (teinei ni) – politely
    • 話す (hanasu) – speak
    「言葉遣い」 is the noun meaning ‘the way of speaking’; here it is the target of 気をつける with に, indicating what one pays attention to.
  • 昼休み、同僚と雑談をしつつコーヒーを飲んだ。
    Hiru yasumi, dōryō to zatsudan o shitsutsu kouhii o nonda.
    During lunch break, I chatted with a coworker while drinking coffee.
    Lista:
    • 昼休み (hiruyasumi) – during lunch break
    • 同僚と (dōryō to) – with a coworker
    • 雑談をしつつ (zatsudan o shitsutsu) – while having a casual chat
    • コーヒーを (kouhii o) – coffee
    • 飲んだ (nonda) – drank
    The word is 「雑談」, meaning casual talk; here 雑談をしつつ means ‘while having a casual chat’.
  • 職場の同僚に恋する私は、今日も頑張る。
    Shokuba no dōryō ni koi suru watashi wa, kyō mo ganbaru.
    I’m the type of person who falls in love with a coworker, and I’ll work hard today as well.
    Lista:
    • 職場の同僚に (shokuba no dōryō ni) – to a coworker
    • 恋する (koi suru) – to fall in love
    • 私は (watashi wa) – I
    • 今日も (kyō mo) – today as well
    • 頑張る (ganbaru) – work hard
    Here 「恋する」 means ‘to fall in love (with someone)’ and に marks the target person; 私は marks the topic.
同僚