朋友 (péngyou) — friend

HSK 4 | noun | friend; companion

朋友 (péngyou)

朋友 refers to a friend or companion, someone you have a close and friendly relationship with.

Meanings

  1. [noun] friend; companion

Example Sentences

他是我最好的朋友。 Tā shì wǒ zuì hǎo de péngyou. He is my best friend.

我和朋友一起去看电影。 Wǒ hé péngyou yīqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng. I went to see a movie with my friend.

交朋友对成长很重要。 Jiāo péngyou duì chéngzhǎng hěn zhòngyào. Making friends is very important for personal growth.

她在国外结交了很多新朋友。 Tā zài guówài jiéjiāo le hěn duō xīn péngyou. She made many new friends abroad.

Collocations

Collocation Meaning
好朋友 (hǎo péngyou) good friend; close friend
交朋友 (jiāo péngyou) to make friends
老朋友 (lǎo péngyou) old friend
朋友圈 (péngyouquān) social circle; WeChat Moments

Usage Notes

朋友 is one of the most common nouns in Chinese and appears at all levels. At B1 level, learners should know collocations like 交朋友 (make friends) and 朋友圈 (social network or WeChat Moments). Note that 的 is often dropped: 我朋友 is more natural than 我的朋友 in informal speech.

Memory Hook

Two moons (朋) side by side like two friends walking together, and 友 shows two hands reaching out in friendship.