girlfriend

English

Etymology

girl +‎ friend

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA: /ɡəːlˌfrɛnd/
• Hyphenation: girl‧friend

Noun

girlfriend (plural girlfriends)

1. A female partner in a romantic relationship.

   Marc went to the park with his girlfriend and watched the sunset with her.

2. A female friend.

   Mary always enjoyed hanging out with her girlfriend Jessica.

Usage notes

• The term is used to describe any girl or woman in a romantic relationship with another person.
• An older woman in such a non-marital relationship is sometimes described instead as a significant other or partner, especially if the two partners are living together. At times, since girlfriend and partner mean different things to different people, the distinctions between the terms are subjective, and which term is used in a relationship will ultimately be determined by personal preference.
• The use of girlfriend for a female non-romantic friend of another female is limited in geographic distribution and sometimes preferred by older generations of speakers.

Alternative forms

• girl friend
• girl-friend

See also

female partner in a romantic relationship

• boyfriend
• fiancée
• lover
• partner
• significant other
• sweetheart
• wife
• lady friend

a female friend

• boyfriend
• buddy
• friend
• pal

Translations

a female partner in a romantic relationship.

Afrikaans: meisie Arabic: صديقة (ar) (Sadiiqa) f., صاحبة (ar) (SaaHiba) f. Basque: neska-lagun (eu) Chinese: Cantonese: 女朋友 (neoi5 pang4 jau5) Mandarin: 女朋友 (cmn) (nǚpéngyoǔ), (boyfriend or girlfriend) 對象 (zh), 对象 (zh) (duìxiàng) Croatian: cura (hr) f., djevojka (hr) f. Czech: přítelkyně (cs) f. Danish: kæreste (da) Dutch: vriendin (nl) Esperanto: koramikino (eo) Finnish: tyttöystävä (fi), naisystävä (fi), tyttökaveri (fi) French: blonde (fr) f. (Quebec), copine (fr) f., petite amie (fr) f. German: Freundin (de) f. Hebrew: חברה (he) (khavera) f., formal חברה לחיים (he) (khavera laekhayim), formal בת-זוג לחיים (he) (bat-zug lekhayim) Hindi: गर्लफ़्रेंड (hi) (garlfreṇḍ) f., गर्लफ्रेंड (hi) (garlfreṇḍ, garlphreṇḍ) f. Hungarian: barátnő (hu) Icelandic: kærasta (is) f. Indonesian: Indonesian: pacar (id)

Italian: ragazza (it) f., fidanzata (it) f., donna (it) f. Japanese: 彼女 (ja) (かのじょ, kanojo), 意中の女 (ja) (いちゅうのおんな, ichū-no onna), ガールフレンド (ja) (gārufurendo) Korean: 여자친구 (yeojachingu) Lao: ຜູ້ສາວ (lo) (phuu-saao) Latin: amātrix (la), amīca (la), amīcula (la), amans (la) Luxembourgish: Frëndin (lb) f. Marathi: मैत्रीण Norwegian Bokmål: kjæreste m. Persian: دوست‌دختر (fa) (dust-doxtar) Polish: dziewczyna (pl), sympatia (pl) f. Portuguese: namorada (pt) f. Romanian: prietenă (ro) f. Russian: подружка (ru) (podrúžka) f., возлюбленная (ru) (vozljúblennaja) f., девушка (ru) (dévuška) f., гёрлфренд (ru) (gjorlfrénd) f. (indeclinable) Sicilian: zita f., picciotta f., fimmina f. Slovene: dekle (sl) n., punca (sl) (colloquial) Spanish: novia (es) f. Swedish: flickvän (sv) c., tjej (sv) c. (colloquial), kärasta (sv) c. Telugu: ప్రియురాలు (te) (priyuraalu) Thai: แฟนสาว (th) (fan-saaw) Urdu: گرل فرینڈ (ur) (garl freṇḍ) f.

a female friend

Arabic: صديقة (ar) (Sadiiqa) f. Chinese: Mandarin: 女性朋友 (zh) (nǚxìng péngyǒu) Croatian: prijateljica (hr) f. Danish: veninde (da) Dutch: vriendin (nl) Finnish: tyttökaveri (fi) French: amie (fr) f., copine (fr) f. German: Freundin (de) f. Hebrew: חברה (he) (khavera) f., ידידה (he) (yedida) f. Hindi: सहेली (hi) (sahelī) f. Hungarian: barátnő (hu) Icelandic: vinkona (is) f.

Italian: amica del cuore (it) f. Latin: amica (la) Luxembourgish: Frëndin (lb) f. Norwegian Bokmål: venninne m. and f. Persian: دوست‌دختر (fa) (dust-doxtar) Polish: przyjaciółka (pl) f. Portuguese: amiga (pt) f. Romanian: amică (ro) f. Russian: подруга (ru) (podrúga) f., приятельница (ru) (prijátel’nica) f. Slovene: prijateljica (sl) f. Spanish: amiga (es) f. Swedish: väninna (sv) c., tjejkompis (sv) c. (colloquial) Telugu: స్నేహితురాలు (te) (snaehituraalu) Thai: เพื่อนสาว (th) (puen-saaw)