How do you say "colleague" in Japanese?

同僚

douryou

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "colleague" is 同僚 (douryou).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Douryou has a long 'ou' sound, so stretch it like 'doh-ryoh' with the second syllable held a beat longer than in English.

Writing and usage

同僚 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

同僚は私と昼食を分け合いました。

douryou ha watashi to chuushoku wo wake ai mashita.

My colleague shared her lunch with me.

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How to remember 同僚

Picture your DOOR-yo co-worker walking through the office door every morning at the same time as you.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 同僚

How do you pronounce 同僚?

Douryou has a long 'ou' sound, so stretch it like 'doh-ryoh' with the second syllable held a beat longer than in English.

Is 同僚 formal or casual?

同僚 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 同僚 written in Japanese?

同僚 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as douryou.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Colleague" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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