朋友

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.