吾友 (wú yǒu) — (literary, archaic) my friend

Definition

A literary, archaic way of saying 'my friend,' found mostly in classical-style writing. 吾 means 'I/my' and 友 means 'friend,' so it reads as a single set phrase rather than two free words.

noun
(literary, archaic) my friend

Examples

  • 吾友，？
    wú yǒu, Bié lái wú yàng?
    My friend, have you been well since we last met?
  • 吾友。
    Cǐ shū nǎi wú yǒu suǒ zèng.
    This book was a gift from my friend.
  • 吾友，。
    wú yǒu Zhī yán, shēn hé wú yì.
    My friend's words are very much in line with my thoughts.

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.

吾wúmy
友yǒufriend

吾 means “my” in old usage, and 友 means “friend”.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
五
五wǔ吾wú
Same sound today

吾 is built from 口, a mouth, and 五, which gives its sound.

Open 吾 →

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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