同士 | Grammar

Structure

[noun] + 同士 [noun] + 同士 + で [noun] + 同士 + の + [noun]

Description

同士 goes straight after a noun for people and means "fellow", "among themselves": everyone involved shares that label, and what happens, happens between them. The noun names what they have in common – friends, Japanese people, rivals – or how they stand to each other, as in こいびとどうし恋人同士 and となりどうし隣同士.

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We went on a trip, just us friends.

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If we're both Japanese, let's speak Japanese.

。

Those two are a couple.

同士で and 同士の

With で, 同士 names who does something together, with no outsiders. With の, it describes something that happens between them: a fight, a talk, a match.

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Let's go drinking, just us guys.

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Parents shouldn't step into fights between children.

、。

This is a talk between grown-ups, so go and play over there, kids.

Both people have to fit the noun. ×先生と学生同士 does not work, because the teacher is not a student.

同士 also works with things of one kind, when they are paired or matched up with each other.

。

Putting similar colours together looks nice.

Examples

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It's important for friends to help each other.

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Please discuss among yourselves as students and find the answer.

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Those two are lovers.

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Even among Japanese people, opinions can differ.

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Fights between siblings end quickly.

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We went to a hot spring, just us guys.

、。

Even though they were meeting for the first time, they quickly became close.

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We played a match among people from the same class.

、。

They're rivals, but they respect each other.

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Let's sit next to each other.

、。

This is a conversation between adults, so go play over there, kids.

、。

We're two of a kind, so we get along well.

References

同士Bunpro