TongTong
Sign in

狐朋狗友 (hú péng gǒu yǒu) — bad company; disreputable friends; a gang of scoundrels

Definition

An idiom meaning 'bad company — disreputable friends who lead you astray'. The two halves 狐朋 ('fox friends') and 狗友 ('dog pals') stack two animal images to stress that these people are untrustworthy.

idiom
bad companydisreputable friendsa gang of scoundrels

Examples

  • 狐朋狗友，。
    Tā zhěng tiān gēn nà xiē hú péng gǒu yǒu hùn zài yì qǐ, bù gān zhèng shì.
    He hangs out with those bad friends all day and does nothing productive.
  • 狐朋狗友。
    Nǐ jiāo de zhè xiē hú péng gǒu yǒu zhī huì bǎ nǐ dài huài.
    These disreputable friends you've made will only lead you astray.
  • 狐朋狗友，。
    Tā yǐ qián yǒu yì qún hú péng gǒu yǒu, hòu lái dōu duàn jué lái wǎng le.
    He used to have a gang of scoundrels, but later cut off all contact with them.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

狐朋fox friends
狐húfox朋péngfriend
偏正Modifier + head
狗友dog friends
狗gǒudog友yǒufriend
偏正Modifier + head

狐朋 and 狗友 bring fox and dog companions together, meaning disreputable friends.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
瓜
瓜guā狐hú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狐 uses 犭, the dog sign, to mark it as an animal, and 瓜 to give the sound.

Open 狐 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

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 & SocialIdioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.