to agree; to consent
HSK level
同意 (tóngyì) is the standard verb for 'to agree' or 'to consent' — to share an opinion or to give permission.
It covers two distinct English ideas: agreeing with a view (我同意你的看法 'I agree with your view') and giving approval for something to happen (老板同意了 'the boss approved it'). Unlike English 'agree,' 同意 takes a direct object without a preposition: say 同意你 ('agree with you'), NOT 同意和你. The negative form 不同意 means 'disagree' or 'refuse to consent.' For lighter casual agreement ('yeah, totally') native speakers use 对 / 没错 / 是的; 同意 sounds slightly weighty, fitting for opinions, proposals, contracts, parental permission.
The noun 'agreement / consent' is also 同意 (e.g., 父母的同意 'parents' consent').
Character by character
Memory hook: Same (同) idea (意) → to agree.
我同意你的想法。
Wǒ tóngyì nǐ de xiǎngfǎ.
I agree with your idea.
neutral
妈妈不同意我去。
Māma bù tóngyì wǒ qù.
Mom doesn't agree to let me go.
spoken
你同意这个计划吗？
Nǐ tóngyì zhè ge jìhuà ma?
Do you agree with this plan?
neutral
老师同意了我的请求。
Lǎoshī tóngyì le wǒ de qǐngqiú.
The teacher agreed to my request.
neutral
同意 is written with 19 strokes (同: 6, 意: 13). Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
答应 means 'to promise / agree to do something.' Use it when someone agrees to a request or task (他答应帮我 'he agreed to help me'). 同意 is about sharing an opinion or granting permission.
赞成 means 'to support / be in favor of' (a proposal, plan). Stronger and more public than 同意 — voting in favor uses 赞成.
Acquire it by listening
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