True friends stick together through good times and bad.
Tips
history
Rooted in 《战国策·燕策一》, which describes King Zhao of Yan '与百姓同其甘苦' — sharing sweet and bitter with the people — in order to rebuild the state after defeat. The standard four-character form crystallized later.
memory
甘 = sweet, 苦 = bitter. 同 + 共 both mean 'together'. Two ways of saying 'together' wrapped around the two opposite flavors of life: sweet together, bitter together.
