Chinese phrases
How to say friend in Chinese
Friend in Chinese is 朋友 (péng you). It works for any friend, and a close friend is a 好朋友 (hǎo péng you).
朋友
friend
The 友 is light and short: péng you, not péng yǒu.
Ways to say friend
朋友
Everydayfriend
Any friend, close or not. In speech people often drop the 的: 我朋友, “my friend.”
好朋友
Everydaygood friend; close friend
A close friend. Your best friend is 最好的朋友.
老朋友
Everydayold friend
Someone you have known for years. 老 here means “of long standing,” not old in age.
哥们
With friendsbuddy; mate
Mostly between men: 他是我哥们, “he’s my buddy.” Also a friendly way to address a guy.
闺蜜
With friendsbest friend (between women)
A woman’s close female friend. Women use it about each other.
网友
Everydayonline friend; internet user
Someone you know from the internet. It also means people online in general: 网友说… is “people online say …”
Words built on 朋友
交朋友
to make friends
我想交中国朋友, “I want to make Chinese friends.”
朋友圈
WeChat Moments
The feed in WeChat where friends post photos. To post there is 发朋友圈.
小朋友
child; kid
How adults talk to or about children: 小朋友，你几岁了? “How old are you, little one?”
Common mistakes
Calling a female friend 女朋友
女朋友 always means girlfriend, and 男朋友 always means boyfriend. A friend who is a woman is just 朋友.
Reading 小朋友 as “little friend”
小朋友 means a child. A teacher who says 小朋友们 is talking to the class.
A full tone on 友
In 朋友 the second syllable is light: péng you. The full tone comes back in shorter words such as 网友 and 男友.
Monday at the office
周末干嘛了？
Liangliang: What did you do at the weekend?
跟几个朋友去爬山了。
Leon: I went hiking with some friends.
下次也叫我！
Liangliang: Ask me along next time!
