朋友
friend
HSK level
- Pinyin
- péngyou
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个 / 位
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 朋友
朋友 is written with 12 strokes (朋: 8, 友: 4). The animation replays automatically.
What does 朋友 mean?
朋友 (péngyou) is the standard Chinese word for 'friend' — a person you have a personal, affectionate relationship with.
It covers everything from a close friend to a casual acquaintance, though context narrows the meaning: 好朋友 (hǎo péngyou) is a close friend, 老朋友 (lǎo péngyou) is a long-time friend. Two notes for English speakers: first, the second character 友 is unstressed and pronounced with a neutral tone (you, not yǒu), even though 友 alone is yǒu. Second, 男朋友 (nán péngyou) and 女朋友 (nǚ péngyou) mean 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' — romantic partners, not just friends who are male or female.
To say 'a male friend (platonic),' Chinese uses 男性朋友 or just specifies 我的朋友. The measure word is 个 in casual speech, 位 when being polite.
Character by character
Memory hook: Two 月 stuck together in 朋 — two people side by side. 友 shows two hands joined. The whole word doubles up on 'togetherness.'
Hear 朋友 in real episodes
朋友 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
习近平说：熊猫是中国和美国的朋友。
Xi Jinping said: pandas are friends of China and America.
Giant Pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang Land in Atlanta as Panda Diplomacy ReturnsBeginner
三，四个人打，可以认识新朋友。
Three: four people play, and you can make new friends.
Pickleball Is Taking Off in China: 8 Million Regular Players and 1,000 Tournaments a Year
特朗普说：我和习近平是很好的朋友。
Trump said: Xi Jinping and I are very good friends.
Xi's First Washington Visit in 11 Years: Pageantry, a Pair of Pandas and a Two-Month Trade TruceElementary
Example sentences
他是我的好朋友。
Tā shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou.
He's my good friend.
neutral
我有很多中国朋友。
Wǒ yǒu hěn duō Zhōngguó péngyou.
I have a lot of Chinese friends.
spoken
我想交一个新朋友。
Wǒ xiǎng jiāo yí ge xīn péngyou.
I want to make a new friend.
spoken
明天和朋友吃饭。
Míngtiān hé péngyou chīfàn.
Tomorrow I'm eating with a friend.
spoken
Common phrases with 朋友
Synonyms
More written/slightly formal, also the default term for 'friend' on Chinese social media platforms (微信好友 'WeChat friend'). 朋友 is the everyday spoken word.
Casual northern slang for 'buddy / dude,' used mainly between men. 朋友 is neutral and works for anyone.
Don't confuse 朋友 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 朋友 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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