Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 の 協きょう 同どう 組くみ 合あい に 加か 入にゅう する to join a cooperative (in a place)
He joined the local cooperative and sells produce jointly with other members.
協きょう 同どう 組くみ 合あい を 設せつ 立りつ する to establish a cooperative
The fishermen established a new cooperative.
協きょう 同どう 組くみ 合あい の 組くみ 合あい 員いん になる to become a member of a cooperative
She became a member of the consumer cooperative.
Kanji 組 association, braid, plait Related words 組合 is the broad term for any union or association, while 協同組合 specifically denotes a member-owned cooperative enterprise.
協会 usually refers to a professional or cultural association, whereas 協同組合 is a business jointly owned and operated by its members.
協同組合 is the general term for any cooperative organization, while 生協 specifically means a consumer/member cooperative selling food and daily goods.
Don't confuse with 共同 (きょうどう ) means 'joint' or 'shared' and is a common adjective/noun for collaboration, while 協同組合 uses the different kanji 協同 to name a specific cooperative organization.
協同組合 is a cooperative formed by producers or consumers for mutual economic benefit, unlike 労働組合 , which represents employees against employers.
共同体 is a general term for any bonded community or collective, while 協同組合 refers specifically to a registered cooperative business organization.
Word family consumers' cooperative; co-op
business cooperative; business cooperative association
cooperative credit association
fishery cooperative association; fishermen's cooperative
agricultural cooperative
consumers' cooperative society; consumers' cooperative association
Written forms 協きょう 同どう 組くみ 合あい
Standard kanji spelling; the most common form in news and formal contexts.
共きょう 同どう 組くみ 合あい
Alternate kanji spelling also seen in news; 協同 emphasizes cooperation, 共同 emphasizes joint action, but both refer to the same type of organization.
Etymology Compound of 協同 (cooperation, joint) and 組合 (association, union). The term was adopted to translate Western cooperative movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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