tóngshì (tonal spelling = torngshyh) 同事 = coworker, NOT colleague

英漢字典不可靠，請不要害自己。中文同義詞不是定義！

學英文要查英英學習字典才有效！

Here is how a well-known online English-Chinese so-called "dictionary" ("glossary" would be more accurate) explains "colleague" by using synonyms instead of real definitions:

tóngshì (tonal spelling = torngshyh) 同事 

其實，Colleague 不是一般人說的“同事”！

同事 = coworker, NOT colleague, 上面連英式音標（DJ）都不對

The above explanations are misleading because they give Chinese learners the mistaken impression that anybody you work with can be called a torngshyh. This is not the case.

Doctors/lawyers/professors and other people with specialized training and advanced skills (the typically also earn high salaries) usually call each other “my colleague.” In an ordinary work environment, you might occasionally call somebody a "colleague" to show special respect, but a person who works with you in the same office/school/factory etc. is more commonly called a "coworker.”

English-Chinese or other bilingual dictionaries often do not give you complete or correct explanations of word meaning. Learner's dictionaries (designed for people who grew up speaking a different language) are much more reliable. These dictionaries define words much more clearly and completely because they explain grammar and pragmatics (what to say or not say in social situations), point out connotations, collocations and related words, and provide you with real native speaker sentences. Here are definitions of COLLEAGUE provided by two learner's dictionaries:

(Collins COBUILD) English for Learners: Your colleagues are the people you work with, especially in a professional job....a business colleague.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: someone you work with, used especially by professional people: a colleague of mine from the bank; She discussed the idea with some of her colleagues.