Friends & Friendship in Chinese 朋友
péngyou
Friend in Chinese is 朋友 (péng you).
Also searched for as: friend, best friend, friendship, good friend.
Who do you spend time with? 15 essential friends words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for friend in Chinese is 朋友 (péng you), and adding 好 gives 好朋友 (hǎo péng you), a close friend. This topic covers the people you spend time with, from classmates, 同学 (tóng xué), and colleagues to flatmates and online friends, plus the verbs for making plans together: 约 (yuē), to arrange to meet, 见面 (jiàn miàn), to meet up, and 聊天 (liáo tiān), to chat.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 朋友 | péng you | friend |
| 好朋友 | hǎo péng you | good friend |
| 同学 | tóng xué | classmate |
| 同事 | tóng shì | colleague |
| 室友 | shì yǒu | roommate |
| 邻居 | lín jū | neighbour |
| 男朋友 | nán péng you | boyfriend |
| 女朋友 | nǚ péng you | girlfriend |
| 网友 | wǎng yǒu | online friend |
| 见面 | jiàn miàn | to meet up |
| 聊天 | liáo tiān | to chat |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | together |
| 约 | yuē | to arrange (to meet) |
| 关系 | guān xi | relationship |
| 友谊 | yǒu yì | friendship |
Usage tips
- 同学 (tóng xué) covers anyone you studied with, even years later, and teachers address a class as 同学们 (tóng xué men).
- 约 (yuē) is the everyday verb for setting up a meet-up: 我们约个时间吧 (wǒ men yuē ge shí jiān ba), 'let's fix a time'.
- A friend you know through the internet, social media or games is a 网友 (wǎng yǒu); meeting one in person for the first time is called 见网友 (jiàn wǎng yǒu).
Common mistakes
- Calling a female friend 我的女朋友 (wǒ de nǚ péng you): this means 'my girlfriend'. Say 我的朋友 (wǒ de péng you), or 一个女性朋友 (yī ge nǚ xìng péng you) if gender matters.
- Giving 见面 (jiàn miàn) a direct object, as in 我见面他: 见面 already contains its object, so say 我跟他见面 (wǒ gēn tā jiàn miàn) or 我见他 (wǒ jiàn tā).
Mini dialogue
- A周六有空吗？我们一起去喝咖啡吧。Zhōu liù yǒu kòng ma? Wǒ men yī qǐ qù hē kā fēi ba.Are you free on Saturday? Let's go for a coffee.
- B好啊！我可以带我的室友吗？Hǎo a! Wǒ kě yǐ dài wǒ de shì yǒu ma?Sure! Can I bring my flatmate?
- A当然可以。下午两点在学校门口见面吧。Dāng rán kě yǐ. Xià wǔ liǎng diǎn zài xué xiào mén kǒu jiàn miàn ba.Of course. Let's meet at the school gate at two in the afternoon.
- B好的，到时候好好聊天！Hǎo de, dào shí hou hǎo hǎo liáo tiān!Great, we can have a proper chat then!
Example sentences
- 他是我大学的朋友。He's a friend from university.
- 我们从小就是好朋友。We've been good friends since we were little.
- 她是我的高中同学。She was my classmate at high school.
- 我的室友很爱干净。My roommate is very tidy.
- 我们的邻居很热情。Our neighbours are very friendly.
- 她男朋友是医生。Her boyfriend is a doctor.
- 他周末陪女朋友看电影。He took his girlfriend to the cinema at the weekend.
- 我和一个网友见面了。I met up with an online friend.
- 我们明天下午见面吧。Let's meet up tomorrow afternoon.
- 我们在咖啡馆聊天。We're chatting in a café.
- 我们一起去跑步吧。Let's go running together.
- 我约了朋友吃晚饭。I've arranged to have dinner with a friend.
- 我和同事关系很好。I get on very well with my colleagues.
- 我们的友谊已经有十年了。Our friendship goes back ten years.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Friends speaking island has 8 everyday questions about friends to prepare your own answers to.