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够朋友 (gòu péng yǒu) — to be a true friend; to be loyal and generous towards one's friends

Definition

够朋友 describes someone who acts like a true friend — loyal and generous when it matters, especially in hard times. It judges a person's behavior, not a relationship: you say someone 真够朋友 after they help you, not to introduce them as a friend.

adjective
to be a true friendto be loyal and generous towards one's friends

Examples

  • ，够朋友。
    Tā bāng wǒ bān le yì tiān de dōng xī, zhēn gòu péng yǒu.
    He helped me move things all day — he's a true friend.
  • ，。
    Yào shi nǐ jué de wǒ bú gòu péng yǒu, nǐ kě yǐ zhí shuō.
    If you think I'm not being a true friend, you can just say so.
  • ，够朋友。
    Nà cì jiè qián de shì, tā zuò dé fēi cháng gòu péng yǒu.
    In that matter of borrowing money, he acted very much like a true friend.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

够gòuenough
朋友friend
朋péngfriend友yǒufriend
联合Coordinate

The 够 (enough) and 朋友 (friend) mean being worthy of friendship.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夠; 够 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù夠gòu
Same sound today

In the traditional form 夠, 多 is the part tied to the meaning and 句 is the part that gives the sound; the simplified 够 is a later shorthand.

Open 够 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old form of 朋 showed two strings of cowries side by side; the modern double shape came from this picture.

Open 朋 →

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 →
Appears in
Friends & Social

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