Meaning & readings
together, both, neither, all, and, alike, with
On’yomi キョウ
Kun’yomi とも、とも.に、-ども
Origin
This character most likely pictures two people standing shoulder to shoulder or holding something together. The upper part represents heads or people, while the lower strokes suggest them joined or united in action. Over time, the pictograph became more abstract, but the core idea remained: when people come together in this way, they act as one unit. That's why the character came to mean "together," "both," and "alike" — it's literally a picture of unity and shared action.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (共).
Common words
- 共に ともに together; jointly
- 共栄 きょうえい mutual prosperity
- 共演 きょうえん appearing together (in a film, play, etc.); performing together (at a concert, etc.)
- 共学 きょうがく coeducation; mixed-sex education
- 共感 きょうかん sympathy; empathy
- 共催 きょうさい joint sponsorship (of an event); cosponsorship
- 共済 きょうさい mutual aid
- 共産 きょうさん communism
Reference
- Strokes
- 6
- Kangxi radical
- 12
- Formation type
- Pictographic or simple
- Grade
- Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #174 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+05171