Tong-zhi 同志

lit. comrade/queer

pronounced as:  tone zhi 
(to pronounce zhi, say “jay (j)” without the “ay” sound)

1. “Tong-zhi” (同志) might originate from the idiom: “zhi tong dao he” (志同道合), or literally, the ones who share the same aspiration and walk the same path.
2. In the 20th century, ”tong-zhi” became the Chinese equivalent of “comrade” under the influence of socialism/communism.
3. In the 80s, “tong-zhi” was appropriated (again) by the LGBT+ community from Hong Kong to address fellow queer folks. Today, tong-zhi has become a respectful and popular term to address LGBT+ folks or to self-identify.​​

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