“Friend” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Friend
“Friend” in Chinese is 朋友, péngyou — roughly “pung-yo”. Both characters, 朋 and 友, mean “friend, companion” on their own; together they make the everyday word. It has no gender and no plural: 朋友 is a male friend, a female friend and friends.
How to pronounce 朋友
- 朋友péngyoufriend
péng is second tone: the voice goes up, as in a surprised “huh?”. The e is not the “e” of “pen” — it is closer to the “u” in “lung”. The final -ng is the same as in “song”: no “g” at the end. you is light: short and toneless, like a quick “yo”. More about the word is on the page 朋友.
How to say “my friend” and “we are friends”
- 我们是朋友。wǒmenshìpéngyouwe are friends
- 他是我朋友。tāshìwǒpéngyouhe is my friend
- 我们俩是好朋友。wǒmenliǎshìhǎopéngyouthe two of us are good friends
“My friend” in full is 我的朋友, but with people close to you the 的 is often dropped: 我朋友, just like 我妈妈, “my mom”. Since the word has no plural, 我们是朋友 means “we are friends” — the plural is already in 我们, “we”.
Best friend, old friend, classmate
- 好朋友hǎopéngyougood friend, close friend
- 最好的朋友zuìhǎodepéngyoubest friend
- 老朋友lǎopéngyouold friend
- 同学tóngxuéclassmate
- 她是我最好的朋友之一。tāshìwǒzuìhǎodepéngyouzhīyīshe is one of my best friends
- 他是我朋友，也是我同学。tāshìwǒpéngyou,yěshìwǒtóngxuéhe is my friend and my classmate
Whether the friend is a man or a woman is shown only by the pronoun: 他 “he” or 她 “she”. Out loud they sound the same, tā — the difference is only in writing. in 老朋友 is not about age but about how long you have been friends. 同学 literally means “study together”: it covers everyone you studied with, from school to university.
男朋友 and 女朋友 mean boyfriend and girlfriend — only in a couple
- 男朋友nánpéngyouboyfriend
- 女朋友nǚpéngyougirlfriend (romantic)
Here Chinese is stricter than English. A woman in English can call a female friend “my girlfriend”; in Chinese 女朋友 always means a partner you are dating, and 男朋友 a boyfriend. Introduce a friend that way and you will get some surprised looks. A female friend is simply 朋友, or 好朋友 if she is close.
- 她是我的朋友，不是我的女朋友。tāshìwǒdepéngyou,búshìwǒdenǚpéngyoushe is my friend, not my girlfriend
- 你有男朋友吗？nǐyǒunánpéngyoumado you have a boyfriend?
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “friend” in Chinese?
“Friend” in Chinese is 朋友, in pinyin péngyou.
How do you pronounce 朋友?
朋友 is read péngyou. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “friend” in Chinese characters?
朋友 is 2 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 朋友 mean?
朋友 (péngyou) means “friend”.
Talk about your friends in Chinese
In the first lessons you meet people, introduce your friends and talk about your family — out loud, in whole sentences. Free during the beta.
Start for free