朋友

Chinese

		friend	friend
simp. and trad. (朋友)		朋	友

Pronunciation 1

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 朋友

1. friend (Classifier: 個／个; 位)

   童年的朋友  ―  tóngnián de péngyǒu  ―  childhood friend

   結交新朋友／结交新朋友  ―  jiéjiāo xīn péngyǒu  ―  to make new friends

   • 他不知道朋友的家在哪裡。 [MSC, trad.]
     他不知道朋友的家在哪里。 [MSC, simp.]

     Tā bù zhīdào péngyǒu de jiā zài nǎlǐ. [Pinyin]

     He doesn't know where his friend's house is.

   • 呢個係我個朋友。 [Guangzhou Cantonese, trad.]
     呢个系我个朋友。 [Guangzhou Cantonese, simp.]

     ni¹ go³ hai⁶ ngo⁵ go³ pang⁴ jau⁵. [Jyutping]

     This is my friend.

   • 伊毋知朋友的厝佇佗位。 [Hokkien, trad.]
     伊毋知朋友的厝伫佗位。 [Hokkien, simp.]

     I m̄-chai pêng-iú ê chhù tī tó-ūi. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     He doesn't know where his friend's house is.

   • 伊唔知朋友個內在底塊。 [Teochew, trad.]
     伊唔知朋友个内在底块。 [Teochew, simp.]

     i¹ m⁶ zai¹ pêng⁵ iu² gai⁵ lai⁶ do⁶ di⁷ go³. [Peng'im]

     He doesn't know where his friend's house is.

   • 你的近況斷續從朋友口中傳到我耳畔。 [MSC, trad.]
     你的近况断续从朋友口中传到我耳畔。 [MSC, simp.]

     Nǐ de jìnkuàng duànxù cóng péngyǒu kǒu zhōng chuán dào wǒ ěrpàn. [Pinyin]

     Your news intermittently came to my ears through friends' words.

   • 我跟她真的只是普通朋友。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

     Wǒ gēn tā zhēnde zhǐshì pǔtōng péngyǒu. [Pinyin]

     She and I are really just friends.

2. (euphemistic) boyfriend or girlfriend; partner

Synonyms

• (friend):

(deprecated template usage)

• 交遊／交游 (jiāoyóu) (literary)
• 友人 (yǒurén)
• 捧油 (pěngyóu) (slang)
• 捧由 (pěngyóu) (slang)
• 盆友 (pényǒu) (neologism, Internet slang, humorous, cute-sounding)
• 相與／相与 (xiāngyǔ) (literary)

 

Antonyms

• (friend): 仇敵／仇敌 (chóudí, “enemy”), 敵人／敌人 (dírén, “enemy”)

Hyponyms

• (friend): 好友 (hǎoyǒu, “good friend”), 老友 (lǎoyǒu, “old friend”)

See also

• 賓朋／宾朋 (bīnpéng), 高朋 (gāopéng), 良朋 (liángpéng), 朋侶／朋侣 (pénglǚ)
• 筆友／笔友 (bǐyǒu), 網友／网友 (wǎngyǒu), 醉朋

Further reading

• “Entry #4215”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): péngyǒu

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡˇ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: péngyǒu
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: péngyǒu
    • Wade–Giles: pʻêng²-yu³
    • Yale: péng-yǒu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: perngyeou
    • Palladius: пэнъю (pɛnʺju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰɤŋ³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 朋友

1. (archaic) large number of retainers
2. (archaic, Ming dynasty) designation given by government bureaucrats to Confucian students

Synonyms

• (large number of retainers): (archaic) 群臣 (qúnchén)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (朋友):

• → Japanese: 朋友(ほうゆう) (hōyū)
• → Korean: 붕우(朋友) (bung'u)
• → Vietnamese: bằng hữu (朋友)

Others:

• → Hmong (Leng/Der): fim ywg
• → White Hmong: phooj ywg
• → Zhuang: baengzyoux

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
朋	友
ほう Jinmeiyō	ゆう Grade: 2
on'yomi

/hoː iu/ → /hoːjiu/ → /hoːjuː/

From Middle Chinese compound 朋友 (MC bong hjuwX).

Noun

朋(ほう)友(ゆう) • (hōyū) ^{←ほういう (fouiu)?}
(alternative reading hiragana ぼうゆう, rōmaji bōyū, historical hiragana ぼういう)

1. (uncommon) a friend

   Synonyms: 友達 (tomodachi), 仲間 (nakama), 友人 (yūjin) (more common)

   Antonym: 仇敵 (kyūteki)

Derived terms

• 知己(ちき)朋友(ほうゆう) (chiki hōyū, “acquaintance”)

Proverbs

• 善(ぜん)を責(せ)むるは朋友(ほうゆう)の道(みち)なり (zen o semuru wa hōyū no michi nari)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
朋	友
ぽん Jinmeiyō	ゆう Grade: 2
irregular

Borrowing from Mandarin 朋友 (péngyǒu).

Noun

朋友(ポンユー) • (pon'yū) 

1. (rare) a friend

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Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
朋	友

Noun

朋友

1. chữ Hán form of bằng hữu (“friend”).