Comrade
Encyclopedia
Comrade means "friend", "colleague", or "ally". The word comes from French camarade. The term is frequently used by left-wing organizations around the globe. "Comrade" has often become a stock phrase and form of address. This word has its regional equivalents available in many languages.
. Upon abolishing the titles of nobility, and the terms monsieur and madame (literally, "my lord" and "my lady"), the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen for men and citoyenne for women (both meaning "citizen") to refer to each other. The deposed King Louis XVI
, for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis Capet
to emphasize his loss of privilege.
When the socialist movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, socialists began to look for an egalitarian
alternative to terms like "Mister
", "Miss
", or "Missus
". They chose "comrade" as their preferred term of address. In German, this practice was started in 1875, with the establishment of the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
. In English, the first known use of the word with this meaning was in 1884 in the socialist magazine Justice.
, Kamerad, for males and Kameradin for females, is the most direct translation of the word "comrade" in a non-political sense. It has traditionally been used as an affectionate form of address among members of the military: the German funeral march for fallen soldiers is titled Ich hatt' einen Kameraden ("I Had a Comrade"). The translation of schoolmate is “Klassenkamerad” ("schoolclass comrade"), the word “Schulfreund” being reserved only for close relationships (even though "Freund" simply is used quite widespreadly today). From its widespread use during World War I
the term entered the lexicon of the Nazi Party, but primarily between "Old Fighters" who were for the most part war veterans. Hence, and because of its military style, it is sometimes associated with Neo-Nazidom. However, "Kamerad" was also the address among concentration camp prisoners, even if otherwise on "Genosse" terms (see below).
Genosse (Genossin for females), means "mate", "fellow" or "companion", and is the main German word for "comrade" in the political sense (outside of politics, it occurs in words like Hausgenosse, "housemate"). It was first introduced as a political form of address in 1875 by the German Social Democrats
, when they established the then-Marxist Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
(the predecessor of today's Social Democratic Party of Germany
). They intended Genosse as a translation of Latin
socius ("sharing", "partner", "comrade", "associate", "ally"), as reflected in the words "social
" and "socialism
". Etymologically, Genosse can be traced to Old High German
genōze, with the same meaning, from nōz "productive livestock
": originally "someone who shares livestock or grazing land (with someone else)", hence "someone who uses/enjoys (geniesst) something together (with someone else)". Hence, a co-operative is called Genossenschaft.
The official form of address between Nazi Party members was Parteigenosse, an adaptation of the word Genosse. By adopting Parteigenosse ("Party Comrade") the NSDAP tried to appeal to working-class voters and instill in its ranks the close relationships that were typical of the parties of the Left, but not of traditional parties of the Right. Applied to the German people as a whole, Volksgenosse (racial comrade) indicated shared membership in the German "racial community" (Volksgemeinschaft).
In contemporary German politics, Genosse and Genossin are still used, although with less frequency, in the Social Democratic Party and The Left
.
version of this term (товарищ, tovarishch) meant something like "business companion", often "travel (or other adventure) mate", deriving from the noun товар (tovar, i.e., 'merchandise'). In the late 19th century Russian Marxists and other leftist revolutionaries adopted tovarishch (abbreviated tov.) as a translation of the words for "Comrade" which were used as a form of address in international (especially German) Social Democracy
and in the associated parts of the workers' movement. For instance, one might be referred to as Comrade Plekhanov or Comrade Chairman, or simply as Comrade. After the Russian Revolution
, translations of the term in different languages were adopted by Communists worldwide. As a result, even though many other socialists would continue to use "Comrade" among themselves (e.g., German and Austrian social-democrats and, for a long time, members of the British Labour Party
), it became most strongly associated in public consciousness with "Soviet
-style" Communism
of the Marxist-Leninist, Stalinist
and Trotskyist
varieties. This is exemplified in its mocking use in stereotypical portrayals of the Soviet Union in Cold War films and books.
In the early years of Soviet power in Russia
, the Bolsheviks used "Comrade" when addressing or referring to people assumed sympathetic to the revolution and to the Soviet state, such as members of the Communist party (and originally of other pro-revolution leftist formations such as the Left SR) and people from the "working masses". The more neutral republican form of address was "Citizen". Accordingly, supporters of the White movement
in the Russian Civil War
would use "Comrades" mockingly as a derogatory term for their enemies - although at the same time, the various socialist anti-Bolshevik forces such as the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks also used "Comrade" among themselves.
By the mid-1920s, the form of address "Comrade" became so commonplace in Soviet Union
that it was used indiscriminately in essentially the same way as terms like "Mister" and "Sir" are employed in English. That use persisted until the fall of the Soviet Union. Still, the original meaning partly re-surfaced in some contexts: criminals and suspects were only addressed as "Citizens" and not as "Comrades", and expressly refusing to address someone as "Comrade" would generally be perceived as a hostile act or, in Stalinist times, even as an accusation of being "Anti-Soviet".
The term is not used often in contemporary Russian society, but it is still the standard form of address in the armed forces
and militsiya
(civilian police), where officers and soldiers are normally addressed as "Comrade Colonel", "Comrade General", "Comrade Sergeant", or the like. The term is also used as part of idioms e.g., tovarishch po neschast'yu (fellow-sufferer) or as a part of such words as tovarishchestvo (partnership) that do not associate with communism.
, the translation of comrade is "同志" , literally meaning "(people with) the same spirit, goal, ambition, etc." It was first introduced in the political sense by Sun Yat-sen
to refer to his followers.
The Kuomintang
(Nationalist Party), which was co-founded by Sun Yat-Sen, has a long tradition of using the term Tongzhi (comrade) to refer to its members, usually as a noun rather than a title; for example, a KMT member would say "Mr. Chang is a loyal and reliable comrade."
Nevertheless, the term was promoted most actively by the Communist Party of China
during its struggle for power. It was used both as a noun and as a title for basically anyone in mainland China
after the People's Republic of China
was founded. For example, women were nü tongzhi (female comrade), children were xiao tongzhi (little comrade) and seniors were lao tongzhi (old comrade). However, after the 1980s and the onset of China's market-oriented reforms, this term has been moving out of such daily usage. It remains in use as a respectful term of public address among middle-aged Chinese and members of the Communist Party of China. Within the Communist Party, failure to address a fellow member as tóng zhì is seen as a subtle but unmistakable sign of disrespect and enmity.
At party or civil meetings, the usage of the term has been retained. Officials often address each other as Tongzhi, and thus the usage here is not limited to Communist Party members alone. In addition, Tongzhi is the term of preference to address any national leader when their titles are not attached (e.g., Comrade Mao Zedong, Comrade Deng Xiaoping).
Chinese territories such as Hong Kong and Macau do not have comrade in its popular vernacular due to longtime administration by foreign Western
powers which instilled a different language paradigm in the natives of those regions.
Since the 1990s, the term is, however, increasingly being used to refer to sexual minorities in Greater China, including lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
people. This use of the term was first adopted at the inaugural Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in Hong Kong in 1989, with the aim of presenting same-sex relationships are positive and suggesting solidarity between LGBT
people, while also providing an indigenous term to capture the Chinese experience of same-sex love; it also puns on tóngxìnglìan (同性戀), the formal (if clinical and disfavored) term for homosexuality
. It is preferred by LGBT communities over the term tóngxìnglìan (同性戀), the formal word for homosexuality, which is seen as being too clinical and having pathological connotations. The use of tongzhi over tóngxìnglìan roughly parallels the replacement of "homosexual" with "gay" in the Western discourse. In recent years, Western terms such as "gay" and "LGBT" are also increasingly used within China and Taiwan.
, comrade is associated with the liberation struggle more generally and the African National Congress
in particular. The members of unions
affiliated to the ANC through their union federation use the term comrade to refer to each other. Comrade can also be a way of describing someone who is an activist, although it has an association with the ANC and the struggle against apartheid or economic inequality. The naming of the Comrades Marathon
is however unrelated, as it commemorates soldiers of World War I
.
In Zimbabwe
, the term is only used to people who are affiliated to the ruling party, ZANU (PF) where the state media also use Cde as short for comrade. Members of the opposition mainly the Movement for Democratic Change
are often referred by their names or Mr, Mrs or Prof.
The revived Zimbabwe African Peoples` Union (ZAPU) members also call themselves comrades. Zapu is the original liberation movement in Zimbabwe. Zanu Pf was formed as a breakaway movement.
's novel Animal Farm
, the animals all refer to each other as comrade, as the story is a satirical look at the Russian Revolution. Also in Nineteen Eighty-Four
, party members in Oceania refer to each other as comrade.
Background
The political usage of the term was inspired by the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Upon abolishing the titles of nobility, and the terms monsieur and madame (literally, "my lord" and "my lady"), the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen for men and citoyenne for women (both meaning "citizen") to refer to each other. The deposed King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis Capet
House of Capet
The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...
to emphasize his loss of privilege.
When the socialist movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, socialists began to look for an egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
alternative to terms like "Mister
Mr.
Mister, usually written in its abbreviated form Mr or Mr. , is a commonly used English honorific for men under the rank of knighthood. The title derived from master, as the equivalent female titles, Mrs., Miss, and Ms, all derived from the archaic mistress...
", "Miss
Miss
Miss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
", or "Missus
Mrs.
Mrs or Mrs. is a honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as Dr, Lady, or Dame. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop is not used with the title...
". They chose "comrade" as their preferred term of address. In German, this practice was started in 1875, with the establishment of the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
. In English, the first known use of the word with this meaning was in 1884 in the socialist magazine Justice.
German usage
In GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Kamerad, for males and Kameradin for females, is the most direct translation of the word "comrade" in a non-political sense. It has traditionally been used as an affectionate form of address among members of the military: the German funeral march for fallen soldiers is titled Ich hatt' einen Kameraden ("I Had a Comrade"). The translation of schoolmate is “Klassenkamerad” ("schoolclass comrade"), the word “Schulfreund” being reserved only for close relationships (even though "Freund" simply is used quite widespreadly today). From its widespread use during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the term entered the lexicon of the Nazi Party, but primarily between "Old Fighters" who were for the most part war veterans. Hence, and because of its military style, it is sometimes associated with Neo-Nazidom. However, "Kamerad" was also the address among concentration camp prisoners, even if otherwise on "Genosse" terms (see below).
Genosse (Genossin for females), means "mate", "fellow" or "companion", and is the main German word for "comrade" in the political sense (outside of politics, it occurs in words like Hausgenosse, "housemate"). It was first introduced as a political form of address in 1875 by the German Social Democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, when they established the then-Marxist Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
(the predecessor of today's Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
). They intended Genosse as a translation of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
socius ("sharing", "partner", "comrade", "associate", "ally"), as reflected in the words "social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
" and "socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
". Etymologically, Genosse can be traced to Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
genōze, with the same meaning, from nōz "productive livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
": originally "someone who shares livestock or grazing land (with someone else)", hence "someone who uses/enjoys (geniesst) something together (with someone else)". Hence, a co-operative is called Genossenschaft.
The official form of address between Nazi Party members was Parteigenosse, an adaptation of the word Genosse. By adopting Parteigenosse ("Party Comrade") the NSDAP tried to appeal to working-class voters and instill in its ranks the close relationships that were typical of the parties of the Left, but not of traditional parties of the Right. Applied to the German people as a whole, Volksgenosse (racial comrade) indicated shared membership in the German "racial community" (Volksgemeinschaft).
In contemporary German politics, Genosse and Genossin are still used, although with less frequency, in the Social Democratic Party and The Left
The Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
.
Russian usage
The original (archaic) meaning of the RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
version of this term (товарищ, tovarishch) meant something like "business companion", often "travel (or other adventure) mate", deriving from the noun товар (tovar, i.e., 'merchandise'). In the late 19th century Russian Marxists and other leftist revolutionaries adopted tovarishch (abbreviated tov.) as a translation of the words for "Comrade" which were used as a form of address in international (especially German) Social Democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and in the associated parts of the workers' movement. For instance, one might be referred to as Comrade Plekhanov or Comrade Chairman, or simply as Comrade. After the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, translations of the term in different languages were adopted by Communists worldwide. As a result, even though many other socialists would continue to use "Comrade" among themselves (e.g., German and Austrian social-democrats and, for a long time, members of the British Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
), it became most strongly associated in public consciousness with "Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-style" Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
of the Marxist-Leninist, Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
and Trotskyist
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
varieties. This is exemplified in its mocking use in stereotypical portrayals of the Soviet Union in Cold War films and books.
In the early years of Soviet power in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the Bolsheviks used "Comrade" when addressing or referring to people assumed sympathetic to the revolution and to the Soviet state, such as members of the Communist party (and originally of other pro-revolution leftist formations such as the Left SR) and people from the "working masses". The more neutral republican form of address was "Citizen". Accordingly, supporters of the White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
would use "Comrades" mockingly as a derogatory term for their enemies - although at the same time, the various socialist anti-Bolshevik forces such as the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks also used "Comrade" among themselves.
By the mid-1920s, the form of address "Comrade" became so commonplace in Soviet Union
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
that it was used indiscriminately in essentially the same way as terms like "Mister" and "Sir" are employed in English. That use persisted until the fall of the Soviet Union. Still, the original meaning partly re-surfaced in some contexts: criminals and suspects were only addressed as "Citizens" and not as "Comrades", and expressly refusing to address someone as "Comrade" would generally be perceived as a hostile act or, in Stalinist times, even as an accusation of being "Anti-Soviet".
The term is not used often in contemporary Russian society, but it is still the standard form of address in the armed forces
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
and militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
(civilian police), where officers and soldiers are normally addressed as "Comrade Colonel", "Comrade General", "Comrade Sergeant", or the like. The term is also used as part of idioms e.g., tovarishch po neschast'yu (fellow-sufferer) or as a part of such words as tovarishchestvo (partnership) that do not associate with communism.
Chinese usage
In ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, the translation of comrade is "同志" , literally meaning "(people with) the same spirit, goal, ambition, etc." It was first introduced in the political sense by Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
to refer to his followers.
The Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(Nationalist Party), which was co-founded by Sun Yat-Sen, has a long tradition of using the term Tongzhi (comrade) to refer to its members, usually as a noun rather than a title; for example, a KMT member would say "Mr. Chang is a loyal and reliable comrade."
Nevertheless, the term was promoted most actively by the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
during its struggle for power. It was used both as a noun and as a title for basically anyone in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
after the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was founded. For example, women were nü tongzhi (female comrade), children were xiao tongzhi (little comrade) and seniors were lao tongzhi (old comrade). However, after the 1980s and the onset of China's market-oriented reforms, this term has been moving out of such daily usage. It remains in use as a respectful term of public address among middle-aged Chinese and members of the Communist Party of China. Within the Communist Party, failure to address a fellow member as tóng zhì is seen as a subtle but unmistakable sign of disrespect and enmity.
At party or civil meetings, the usage of the term has been retained. Officials often address each other as Tongzhi, and thus the usage here is not limited to Communist Party members alone. In addition, Tongzhi is the term of preference to address any national leader when their titles are not attached (e.g., Comrade Mao Zedong, Comrade Deng Xiaoping).
Chinese territories such as Hong Kong and Macau do not have comrade in its popular vernacular due to longtime administration by foreign Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
powers which instilled a different language paradigm in the natives of those regions.
Since the 1990s, the term is, however, increasingly being used to refer to sexual minorities in Greater China, including lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
people. This use of the term was first adopted at the inaugural Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in Hong Kong in 1989, with the aim of presenting same-sex relationships are positive and suggesting solidarity between LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people, while also providing an indigenous term to capture the Chinese experience of same-sex love; it also puns on tóngxìnglìan (同性戀), the formal (if clinical and disfavored) term for homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. It is preferred by LGBT communities over the term tóngxìnglìan (同性戀), the formal word for homosexuality, which is seen as being too clinical and having pathological connotations. The use of tongzhi over tóngxìnglìan roughly parallels the replacement of "homosexual" with "gay" in the Western discourse. In recent years, Western terms such as "gay" and "LGBT" are also increasingly used within China and Taiwan.
Usage in Southern Africa
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, comrade is associated with the liberation struggle more generally and the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
in particular. The members of unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
affiliated to the ANC through their union federation use the term comrade to refer to each other. Comrade can also be a way of describing someone who is an activist, although it has an association with the ANC and the struggle against apartheid or economic inequality. The naming of the Comrades Marathon
Comrades Marathon
The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 90 km run in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race...
is however unrelated, as it commemorates soldiers of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
In Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, the term is only used to people who are affiliated to the ruling party, ZANU (PF) where the state media also use Cde as short for comrade. Members of the opposition mainly the Movement for Democratic Change
Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai
The Movement for Democratic Change Zimbabwe is a political party and the largest party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe. It is the main formation formed from the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005.-Foundation:...
are often referred by their names or Mr, Mrs or Prof.
The revived Zimbabwe African Peoples` Union (ZAPU) members also call themselves comrades. Zapu is the original liberation movement in Zimbabwe. Zanu Pf was formed as a breakaway movement.
In other languages
- In AlbanianAlbanian languageAlbanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, the word shok (meaning friend, from LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
socius) was used within communist circles. - The ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Urdu and Persian word رفيق (Rafiq) (meaning friend) is used with the same political connotation as "comrade." The term is used both amongst Arab communists as well as within the Ba’ath movement and the Lebanese ForcesLebanese ForcesThe Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese political party. Founded as a militia by Bachir Gemayel during the Lebanese Civil War, the movement fought as the main militia within the Christian-dominated Lebanese Front...
. The term predates modern political usage, and is an IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic male proper name. IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian communists use the same term. In PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, predominantly term is used for referring to members of Jama'at Islami and Islami Jamiat Talba (University Students wing of Jama' Islami). - The ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
word for comrade is ընկեր ("unger") for boys and men, ընկերուհի ("ungerouhi") for girls and women. This word literally translates as "friend". The term is used by members of the Armenian Revolutionary FederationArmenian Revolutionary FederationThe Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
, Ramgavar and Social Democrat Hunchakian PartySocial Democrat Hunchakian PartyThe Social Democrat Hunchakian Party , is the oldest of the Armenian political parties and was the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia...
when addressing other members of the party. The term is also used by the Armenian Communist PartyArmenian Communist PartyThe Armenian Communist Party is a communist political party in Armenia.It considers itself the successor of the Communist Party of Armenia of the Soviet Union, since the former leadership of this party, headed by Aram Gasparovich Sarkisyan, dissolved it and established the Democratic Party of...
. - The Bengali word কমরেড (Komred) is used by all leftist groups especially by the Communist Party of IndiaCommunist Party of IndiaThe Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
, Communist Party of India (Marxist)Communist Party of India (Marxist)The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
and other Communist Parties in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(especially in the States of West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and TripuraTripuraTripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
) and Socialist Party of Bangladesh (BASOD), Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal-JSDJatiyo Samajtantrik Dal-JSDThe Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal is a political party in Bangladesh. It was formed in 2002, through a split from the original Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal. The party is sometimes referred to as JSD , to differentiate it from the mother party led by Inu...
(BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) etc. - The BosnianBosnian languageBosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
word drug is used as an equivalent to comrade. For females, it is used drugarica. It is also used commonly for as a word for friend. - The BurmeseBurmese languageThe Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
word yèbaw is used in the Communist Party of BurmaCommunist Party of BurmaThe Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
. - The BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
word for comrade is "другар" (drugar), female "другарка" (drugarka). It translates as friend or colleague. In Communist times, it was the general form of address, also used in reference to schoolteachers etc.. - In ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, the word 同志 (pinyin: Tóngzhì) is used. The meaning of the word refers to a like-minded person. It is, though usage, associated with Communism, however, may be used as a friendly epithet between friends or colleagues, mostly of the older generation. - The CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
equivalent to comrade is drug for males and drugarica for females. In the period between World War II and Josip Broz TitoJosip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's death in socialist Yugoslavia it was applied to almost everybody: teachers, officials, etc. Today it is not used commonly. It may be used in the meaning friend like in Serbian, but this use is far less frequent in Croatian. It is still used among far left organization members, and calling someone "drug/drugarica" may also be used ironically to denote someone's perceived radical leftism. - The CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
word for comrade is soudruh (female soudružka), although the cognateCognateIn linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
kamarád is also seen. The latter translates as "friend". As elsewhere in Europe, the term was originally introduced by the Czech Social Democrats and subsequently carried over to Czech Communists as well when these split off from the Social Democrats. However, nowadays only the Communists use it. After the Velvet RevolutionVelvet RevolutionThe Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, an attempt was made in the Czech Social Democratic PartyCzech Social Democratic PartyThe Czech Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic.-History:The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria was founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary representing the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament...
to replace soudruh with přítel ("friend") as a form of an address, but it didn't catch on. - The DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
word is kameraad. In Common DutchDutch Language UnionThe Dutch Language Union is an international institution for discussing issues regarding the Dutch language. It was founded on 9 September 1980 by the Netherlands and Belgium...
the word is mostly reminiscent of communists, whereas in informal speech and dialects it can be used to indicate friends or acquaintances. It was used as a form of address in the Communist Party of the NetherlandsCommunist Party of the NetherlandsThe Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
, as well as in the pre-war National Socialist Movement in the NetherlandsNational Socialist Movement in the NetherlandsThe National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands was a Dutch fascist and later national socialist political party. As a parliamentary party participating in legislative elections, the NSB had some success during the 1930s...
, the latter also using the female neologism kameraadske. The pseudo-RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
word kameraadski is used informally as a sobriquetSobriquetA sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
for a person with leftist sympathies. - The DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
word is kammerat (plural kammerater) which literally translates as "mateMate (colloquialism)Mate is a colloquialism used to refer to a friend and is commonly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It is or has been used interchangeably with many equivalent terms, such as buddy , pal or bro . It is sometimes abbreviated to M8..-Origin:Mate is a colloquialism...
," or "buddy". It is normally used to refer to someone's childhood friend or friends, but can also be used interchangeably with ven, which means friend. - The EsperantoEsperantois the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
word for comrade is kamarado either in the sense of a friend or a political fellow-traveller. In the latter case, when used in writing, it is often abbreviated to K-do. It is the preferred form of address among members of Sennacieca Asocio TutmondaSennacieca Asocio TutmondaSennacieca Asocio Tutmonda is an independent worldwide cultural Esperanto association of a general left-wing orientation. Its headquarters are in Paris. According to Jacques Schram, chairman of the Executive Committee, the membership totalled 881 in 2003...
. The word samideano, literally "same-thinker", usually refers to a fellow esperantist. - The EstonianEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
word is seltsimees which originally comes from German Geselle. Having initially a neutral meaning, the term was later adapted by local communists. Today it has an ironical meaning, referring to Soviet times. - The FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
word is toveri which literally translates as "companion". - The FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word is camarade. It is mainly used by communists and can apply to classmates or friends. - The GeorgianGeorgian languageGeorgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
word is ამხანაგი amkhanagi. - In GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, the word is "Genosse" for a male, or "Genossin" for a female. The meaning is that of a fellow, a companion or an associate. - The GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word is σύντροφος/συντρόφισσα syntrophos/syntrophissa (male/female), used by communists, socialists and other left-wing groups. Other meanings of this word are: mate, pal, friend, companion, even partner or associate etc. - The Hebrew equivalent is Chaver (חבר), a word which can mean both "friend" and "member" (of a group or organization). During the time of Socialist Zionist political and ideological dominance of the 1930s to the 1960s, the word in a sense similar to English "comrade" was in widespread use, in the KibbutzKibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
movement, the HistadrutHistadrutHaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...
trade unions, the driver-owned bus companies etc. At present, its political use is considered old-fashioned, mainly restricted to Israeli Communists. (The same word exists also in Yiddish, from which is derived the colloquial Australian word "cobber".) Hebrew "Chaver" and the female "Chavera" are still widely used in a non-political sense, as meaning simply "friend" (in certain contexts also meaning "boyfriend/girlfriend"). - The HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
equivalent for "Comrade" or "Saghave" is kaamred(कामरेड) or saathi(साथी). It is widely used among all leftist(communist) parties of India, i.e., Communist Party of India (Marxist)Communist Party of India (Marxist)The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
, Communist Party of IndiaCommunist Party of IndiaThe Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
, Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...
, Forward Bloc and others. - The HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
word for comrade is elvtárs. elv means "principlePrincipleA principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
" or "tenet" while társ means "fellow". As the Hungarian Working People's Party gradually gained power after the Second World War, the word displaced all prior titles like úr ("Mister") and became the title used generally for everyone except for people who were obviously not "tenet fellows" e.g. those who committed political crimePolitical crimeIn criminology, a political crime is an offence involving overt acts or omissions , which prejudice the interests of the state, its government or the political system...
against the socialist state. After the democratic transition the word became obsolete and it is used derogatory to address politicians on the political left. - The IcelandicIcelandic languageIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
word for comrade is félagi. It is used as a less intimate alternative to vinur (friend). It is also the word used for a "member" of club or association. When used as a title to precede a name (i.e., félagi Tító or félagi Dimitroff) it has a communist implication. - In IndonesianIndonesian languageIndonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, the words Komrad, Kawan, or Kamerad are used by communistCommunist Party of IndonesiaThe Communist Party of Indonesia was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world prior to being crushed in 1965 and banned the following year.-Forerunners:...
, socialist, and nationalist political party. - In IrishIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
the word for comrade is a chara. Both phrases are used largely by Irish Republicans, Irish Nationalists, Communists and Socialists in Ireland. - The ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
word for comrade is compagno (male) or compagna (female), meaning "companion". This word is in widespread use among left-wing circles, including not just communists but also many socialists. There is another word, camerata, which has the specific meaning of "comrade-in-arms" or "fellow soldier", and is used by nationalist and militarist right-wing groups. Using one word or the other is a quick way to announce one's political views. - The JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word for comrade is " (dōshi)", the same word used in Chinese. The word is used to refer to like-minded persons and the usage is not necessarily limited to Communists, though the word is to some extent associated with Communism. The word should not be confused with a homonym "", which is a more commonly used postfix to show people sharing a certain property. - In KoreanKorean languageKorean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, a good equivalent of the word would be "동무" (tongmu) or "동지" (tongji, senior comrade). Although the word was originally used by Korean people all over the Korean PeninsulaKorean PeninsulaThe Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, people living south of the 38th Parallel38th parallel northThe 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...
began avoiding using the word after a communist stateCommunist stateA communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
was set up in the north. In North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, the word tongmu replaced all prior social titles and earned a new meaning as "a fellow man fighting for the revolution". The word originally meant "friend". - In KurdishKurdish languageKurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, the word is Heval, which widely used among the Kurdish Political Parties and Organizations; the meaning of the word is Friend or the person that join you in a long trip. - In MacedonianMacedonian languageMacedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
, the word is другар (drugar). - In MalayMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, the words Komrad, Kawan and Sahabat are used among socialist organizations. - In Malayalam, the word sakhavu is used among communist organizations while addressing fellow members.
- In MongolianMongolian languageThe Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, the word is нөхөр (nökhör). It is still in use but less than before. - The NepaliNepali languageNepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
equivalent for "Comrade" is kaamred(कमरेड) or saathi(साथी)like in Hindi. Its being used by communists in Nepal like Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), Janamorcha Nepal and others. - In NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, the word is spelled Kamerat. It can be associated with communist lingo, but is more commonly used to refer to a less close friend, a co-worker (arbeidskamerat) or a classmate in school (klassekamerat or skolekamerat). In everyday use, the word kamerat on its own is considered a masculine term, referring to boys/men. For girls/women, the term venninne (female form of venn friend) is used instead. When joined with other words, such as klassekamerat, the word is gender neutral. (Although Norwegians would understand what is meant by klassevenninne, it would also sound awkward and somewhat archaic.) - In the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, communist and left-leaning activists prefer the term kasama (roughly, companion), and the short form, ka before the name, as in Ka Bel (referring to labor leader Crispin BeltranCrispin BeltranCrispin 'Ka Bel' Beltran was a Filipino politician and a labor leader. A staunch critic of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his imprisonment in 2006 and 2007 on disputed charges of rebellion and sedition drew international attention...
); religious personalities also use ka, in this sense referring to kapatid (brother/sister). - In PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the word is towarzyszTowarzyszA Towarzysz was sort of a junior cavalry officer or rather knight-officer in the autorament narodowy Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth National army, both in cavalry and infantry, from the 16th century until 1794 AD....
, which has the same origin as the Russian word. - In PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the word is camarada, now being commonly employed to refer to communists or supporters of the communist system (result of the overusage of the term in the post-revolutionaryCarnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
society). It is also prevalent in the army, and has been gaining popularity among nationalist movements. The term used among socialist activists nowadays tends to be companheiro / companheira although in Portugal camarada is still commonly used. Brazilian president Lula is widely known for addressing his political mates and supporters as "companheiro", however this usage has been falling shorter during the last years of his presidential term, while it was very popular during the elections, often imitated by comedians who satirized Lula's idiosyncratic manners. - In the Punjabi languagePunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
the word for Comrade is veer. - In RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
the exact translation is camarad, a neologism introduced from FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
in the 19th century, which does not bear a political connotation, referring mainly to wartime allies and friends. During the communist era an older term, tovarăş, derived from a Slavic source, was used to convey the political meaning. - The SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
word for comrade is drug (друг) for males and drugarica (другарица) for females; it's also a regular word for 'friend'. - The SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
word for comrade is súdruh. The term "kamarát" is used too, but it is normally translated as friend. - The Slovenian word for 'comrade' is tovariš (m.) or tovarišica (f.), first attested in the 16th century. It also meant 'teacher' (as a elliptical form of the official tovariš učitelj (m.), tovarišica učiteljica (f.) 'comrade teacher'). After 1991 it rapidly fell out of use as a general term of address, but is still used when expressing comradeship among individuals.
- The SindhiSindhi languageSindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
word for comrade is Sangat سنگت, it is normally translated as friend. - In SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the word is compañero / compañera ("companion"); the term camarada ("comrade") has also been used, but it's more associated with the communist and FalangeFalangeThe Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
tradition. In SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
the word "compañero" can be (and often is) used with no political connotation.- The standard form in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
is compañero / compañera, as it was in socialist NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. In some parts of Latin America, camarada is the more frequent word, except in PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, where the term is commonly associated with the nom de guerre of members of far leftFar leftFar left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
groups Shining PathShining PathShining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
and MRTAMRTAMRTA stands for:* Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement of Peru * Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand...
, while members of the social-democrat party APRAAPRAAPRA or Apra may refer to:* American Popular Revolutionary Alliance , a Peruvian political party* Australasian Performing Right Association, a copyright collecting society...
as well as other left parties or left-leaning organizations employ compañero to refer to fellow members. The term "camarada" is the more normal among Spanish Communists.
- The standard form in Cuba
- In Sinhala, the word is මිත්රයා/සහෝදරයා
- In SwahiliSwahili languageSwahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, the equivalent word is ndugu for brother-in-arms, or dada for a female comrade. The word ndugu is still used in formerly socialist Tanzania as a way of showing (political) solidarity. - The SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
word is spelled Kamrat. Although it can be associated with communist lingo, it may just as well be used to refer to a friend, a co-worker (arbetskamrat) or a classmate in school (klasskamrat or skolkamrat). Unlike in NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, the term is commonly used for both boys and girls in non-communist usage. - The TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
word for comrade is Thozhar (தோழர்) and is a regular word for 'friend'. - The ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
word sahai (สหาย) was used in the communist movement. - The TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
word Yoldaş (literally co-traveller) has become used within the communist movement. In the climate of harsh anticommunist repression the word largely disappeared from common usage. "Yoldaş" is also a male name in Turkish. - In the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the term comrade is strongly associated with Communism and the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
unless it is used in relation to the military, as a result it is avoided by most political parties. However it is still used as a form of address among Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
members as well as by many smaller parties of the left. Use of the term is generally restricted to people with whom the speaker agrees politically. It is usually written in full, the abbreviation "Cde" being associated with southern African usage. The honorific terms "sister" and "brother", also declining in usage, are more politically inclusive, encompassing everyone from the centre-left to the far-left, without necessarily indicating complete political agreement. All three terms are occasionally used in a mocking or patronising manner by political opponents. The term was also often used amongst British Fascists in the 1930s ; the anthem of the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of FascistsThe British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
started with the words "Comrades, the voices of the dead battalions..." - In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the word "comrade" carries a strong connotation with Communism, Marxism–Leninism, and the former Soviet Union. Especially during the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, to address someone as "comrade" marked either the speaker, person addressed, or both as suspected communist sympathizers. It is frequently used ironically in that way. In addition, it is still used in its generic context by some American socialists. Despite this, it has been adopted into the U.S. Army Soldier's Creed in the statement "I will never leave a fallen comrade". - The VietnameseVietnamese languageVietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
word is đồng chí, which is derived from Chinese.
In literature
In George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's novel Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
, the animals all refer to each other as comrade, as the story is a satirical look at the Russian Revolution. Also in Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, party members in Oceania refer to each other as comrade.