同僚
どうりょう · douryou · JLPT N3 · noun
colleague
💼 同僚 = same + fellow official: someone who holds the same post as you
同 (dō) means same, as in 同じ (onaji). 僚 (ryō) originally meant a fellow official in the same government office, and you also see it in 官僚 (kanryō, bureaucrat). So a dōryō is someone who works in the same office as you.
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.