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网友 (wǎng yǒu) — online friend (someone you know through the internet); Internet user (general term for people online)

Definition

网友 covers both 'online friend' (someone you know via the internet) and 'internet user' generally. 网民 is a more formal/collective term for internet users as a group, used in official or mass-media contexts.

noun
online friend (someone you know through the internet)Internet user (general term for people online)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 网友，。
    Wǒ zuì jìn rèn shi le yí gè xīn wǎng yǒu, tā xǐ huan shè yǐng.
    I recently met a new online friend who likes photography.
  • 网友。
    Hěn duō wǎng yǒu zài lùn tán shàng tǎo lùn zhè ge wèn tí.
    Many internet users are discussing this issue on the forum.
  • 网友？
    Nǐ jiàn guò nǐ de wǎng yǒu ma?
    Have you ever met your online friend in person?

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.

网wǎngnet
友yǒufriend

网 means net and 友 means friend, so it names a friend met through the net.

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 網; 网 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
罔
罔wǎng網wǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 網 pairs 糸 (rope) with 罔 to give the sound; the simplified 网 is a later shorthand.

Open 网 →

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 4Friends & Social

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