同期
tóng qī · HSK 6
synchronous
🔄📅 同 same + 期 period = same period across different years
Think of comparing sales figures: this quarter vs the same quarter last year. Tong qi marks that parallel slice of time. Also used in tech for processes running in sync.
同 — 冂 enclosure + 一 + 口 mouth
Originally depicted multiple mouths gathered under one cover or enclosure, suggesting people speaking together in agreement. From this image of voices joining, it came to mean 'same,' 'together,' or 'alike.' The shared cover symbolizes unity.
期 — 其 (phonetic) + 月 (moon/time)
期 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 月 (moon) signals meaning, since lunar cycles marked fixed time periods in ancient China. The left side 其 supplies the sound. Together it points to a set time, period, or appointed date — meanings still carried today in words like 期间 and 日期.