益友 (yì yǒu) — a beneficial friend; a mentor-like friend

Definition

Literary term for a friend who has a positive, guiding influence on you — comes from the chengyu 良师益友 ("good teachers and helpful friends"). Less common than 朋友 in everyday speech; used more in writing about personal growth.

noun
a beneficial frienda mentor-like friend

Examples

  • 益友，。
    Tā shì wǒ zuì hǎo de yì yǒu, jīng cháng gěi wǒ tí jiàn yì.
    He is my best beneficial friend, often giving me advice.
  • ，益友。
    Gǔ rén shuō, duō jiāo yì yǒu duì chéng zhǎng hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
    The ancients said that making many beneficial friends is very helpful for growth.
  • 益友。
    Yí gè zhēn zhèng de yì yǒu huì zài nǐ kùn nan shí shēn chū yuán shǒu.
    A true beneficial friend will lend a helping hand when you are in difficulty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

益yìbeneficial
友yǒufriend

益 means beneficial, and 友 is the friend.

Characters in this word

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

益 puts 水 (water) above 皿 (a vessel), originally showing water overflowing the vessel.

Open 益 →

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 →

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