tóng

tóng is a Mandarin Chinese syllable represented in pinyin with a rising second tone. It corresponds to several characters that share the same pronunciation but differ in meaning and usage. The most common are 同, 铜 (traditional 銅), and 童. The characters appear in a wide range of Chinese words and names.

同 denotes sameness or togetherness. It is a productive morpheme in compounds and phrases such as 同意, 同样, 同事, and 同伴.

铜 is copper, the chemical element with symbol Cu. In Chinese it appears in terms such as 铜币, 铜管, and 铜器, and it has a long history in technology and currency.

童 means child; it appears in words such as 童年, 童话, and 童谣, and in personal names. In Mandarin, 童 is also a surname, and in English-language contexts is often romanized as Tong.