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朋友 (péng you) — friend

Definition

A everyday word for 'friend' — someone you know well and feel close to. 熟人 is an acquaintance you know but aren't close to; 友人 is the same meaning but formal and written.

noun
friend
Measure word · 个, 位

Examples

  • 朋友。
    Wǒ yǒu hěn duō péng you.
    I have many friends.
  • 朋友。
    Zhè wèi shì wǒ de hǎo péng you.
    This is my good friend.
  • 朋友。
    Wǒ men shì hǎo péng you.
    We are good friends.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

朋péngfriend
友yǒufriend

The parts 朋 and 友 both mean friend, so together they refer to a companion.

Characters in this word

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
HSK 3.0 Level 1500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 11000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsFriends & Social2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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