gōu tōng
to communicate; link up; connect
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我们应该加强沟通，才能更好地合作。
Wǒmen yīnggāi jiāqiáng gōutōng, cái néng gèng hǎo de hézuò.
We should strengthen communication in order to cooperate better.
沟通是解决问题的关键。
Gōutōng shì jiějué wèntí de guānjiàn.
Communication is the key to solving problems.
沟通可以增进彼此的了解。
Gōutōng kěyǐ zēngjìn bǐcǐ de liǎojiě.
Communication can enhance mutual understanding.
交流 (jiāo liú)
exchange
对话 (duì huà)
dialogue
隔阂 (gé hé)
barrier
断绝 (duàn jué)
break off
The Chinese word 沟通 (gōutōng) means "to communicate" or "to connect". It is composed of two characters: 通 (tōng), which means "to pass through" or "to connect", and 沟 (gōu), which means "ditch" or "channel". The original meaning of 沟通 was "to dig a ditch to connect two bodies of water", and it has since been extended to mean "to communicate" or "to connect" in a more general sense.The character 通 (tōng) is composed of two parts: 辶 (chuò), which is a radical that indicates movement, and 甬 (yǒng), which is a phonetic component. The character 沟 (gōu) is composed of two parts: 氵(shuǐ), which is a radical that indicates water, and 丘 (qiū), which is a phonetic component.The word 沟通 is commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese. For example, you might say 沟通很重要 (gōutōng hěn zhòngyào), which means "communication is very important", or 我想和你沟通一下 (wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ gōutōng yīxià), which means "I want to talk to you about something".
