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友善 (yǒu shàn) — friendly

Definition

Use 友善 mainly for a person's character or behavior toward others. It is more formal and character-focused than the everyday 友好; 和蔼 stresses a gentle, warm manner rather than active friendliness.

adjective
friendly

Examples

  • 友善。
    Tā shì gè fēi cháng yǒu shàn de rén.
    He is a very friendly person.
  • 友善。
    Zhè jiā diàn de diàn yuán fú wù hěn yǒu shàn.
    The staff in this shop are very friendly.
  • 友善。
    Tā gěi le wǒ yí gè yǒu shàn de yōng bào.
    She gave me a friendly hug.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

友yǒufriendliness
善shàngoodness

友 carries friendliness, and 善 carries goodness; together they describe a friendly manner.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Open 友 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →
Appears in
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