boyfriend

See also: Boyfriend, boy-friend, and boy friend

English

Alternative forms

• boy friend, boy-friend (dated)
• boifriend (Internet slang)

Etymology

From boy +‎ friend.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔɪˌfɹɛnd/, /ˈbɔɪfɹənd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

boyfriend (plural boyfriends)

1. A male partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.

   Coordinate terms: fiancé, girlfriend, theyfriend, enbyfriend, husband, lover, significant other

   I was playing the drums and my boyfriend was playing the electric guitar.

   • 2012, “Boyfriend”, performed by Justin Bieber:

     If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go / I can take you places you ain’t never been before.

   • 2024 October 24, Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, “More straight couples are calling each other partner. Here’s why”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Referring to someone as your boyfriend or girlfriend suggests several things about your relationship, said Leah Carey, a sex and relationship coach and podcast host of “Good Girls Talk About Sex.”

   • 2024 December 17, Ellen McAlpine and Noelle Ike, “The 58 best gifts for boyfriends in 2025”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Whether he’s interested in the latest tech, takes pride in his personal style or loves spending his free time in the gym, these meaningful gifts for boyfriends are sure to win his heart all over again.

2. A male friend.

   Synonyms: (slang) guyfriend, buddy, pal, mate; see also Thesaurus:friend

3. (often attributively) A style of women's clothing that draws heavily from corresponding men's garments.^Wikipedia

Usage notes

• In contrast to its female equivalent, girlfriend, which is often used to describe a woman's close female friend, the term is not used in reference to non-romantic relationships involving males. Separating the word into its two components boy friend avoids the romantic implication nowadays, although boy friend used to mean the same as boyfriend does now. However, British and Australian men usually refer to a male friend as a mate. Similarly, Americans and Canadians use the term buddy. It is also common for American and Canadian women to differentiate non-romantic male friends from romantic ones by referring to them as being their guy friend.

Boyfriend is a relatively modern term, and often has implications of a sexual relationship outside of marriage. In the past, such relationships were actually illegal, and were often considered immoral. With the sexual revolution, however, such relationships became normal in Western countries. As a result, the term is often used today without negative implications.

An adult man in a non-marital romantic relationship is sometimes referred to instead as a significant other or partner, especially if the two partners are living together. Because boyfriend 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.

Derived terms

• boyfriendable
• boyfriend experience
• boyfriendhood
• boyfriendish, boyfriend-ish
• boyfriend jeans
• boyfriendless
• boyfriend loophole
• boyfriendship
• boyfriendy
• do you have a boyfriend
• e-boyfriend
• ex-boyfriend
• friendboy, friend-boy, friend boy
• Golden Retriever boyfriend
• trophy boyfriend
• unboyfriend

Descendants

• → German: Boyfriend
• → Hindi: बॉयफ़्रेंड (bŏyfreṇḍ)
• → Japanese: ボーイフレンド (bōifurendo)
• → Korean: 보이프렌드 (boipeurendeu)
• → Louisiana Creole: boyfrìnn
• → Russian: бойфре́нд (bojfrɛ́nd)
• → Tamil: பாய்ஃப்ரெண்ட் (pāyfreṇṭ)
• → Urdu: بایفْرینْڈ (bayfrenḍ)

Translations

male partner in a romantic relationship

• Afrikaans: kêrel
• Albanian: dashur (sq) m, dashnor (sq) m
• Arabic: خَلِيل m (ḵalīl), رَفِيق m (rafīq), حَبِيب m (ḥabīb)

  Moroccan Arabic: صْحاب m (ṣḥæb)

• Armenian: ընկեր (hy) (ənker)
• Azerbaijani: oynaş, sevgili (az), istəkli
• Basque: mutil-lagun (eu)
• Belarusian: каха́нак m (kaxának), хло́пец m (xlópjec), ся́бар m (sjábar), пры́яцель m (prýjacjelʹ)
• Bengali: প্রেমিক (bn) (premik)
• Bulgarian: га́дже (bg) n (gádže) (boyfriend or girlfriend), прия́тел (bg) m (prijátel), момче́ (bg) n (momčé)
• Burmese: ရည်းစား (my) (rany:ca:) (boyfriend or girlfriend)
• Catalan: xicot (ca) m, nòvio (ca) m
• Chechen: тӏехьийза кӏант (tʼeḥʳiı̇za kʼant)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 男朋友 (naam⁴ pang⁴ jau⁵), 條仔 / 条仔 (yue) (tiu⁴ jai²)

  Mandarin: 男朋友 (zh) (nánpéngyou), 對象 / 对象 (zh) (duìxiàng) (boyfriend or girlfriend)

• Czech: přítel (cs) m, kluk (cs) m, milenec (cs) m
• Danish: kæreste (da) c
• Dutch: vriend (nl) m, lief (nl) n
• Elfdalian: tjärest m, flaks m
• Esperanto: koramiko
• Estonian: poiss (et), poissõber, kavaler (dated)
• Faroese: sjeikur m
• Finnish: poikaystävä (fi), poikakaveri (boy), miesystävä (fi) (adult)
• French: mon/ton/son ami (fr) m, petit ami (fr) m (dated, adolescents), mon/ton/son copain (fr) m, petit copain (fr) m (dated, adolescents), chum (fr) m (Quebec), mec (fr) m (adolescents), keum (fr) m (adolescents), chéri (fr) m, compagnon (fr) m (adults), partenaire (fr) m (adults), amoureux (fr) m, sigisbée (fr) m
• Galician: noivo (gl) m, mozo (gl) m
• Georgian: შეყვარებული (šeq̇varebuli), შეყვარებული ბიჭი (šeq̇varebuli bič̣i), მეგობარი ბიჭი (megobari bič̣i), შეყვარებული მამაკაცი (šeq̇varebuli mamaḳaci), მეგობარი კაცი (megobari ḳaci), მეგობარი მამაკაცი (megobari mamaḳaci), ბოიფრენდი (boiprendi) (gender-neutral)
• German: mein/dein/ihr/sein Freund (de) m, Boyfriend m, fester Freund m
• Greek: γκόμενος (el) m (gkómenos), αγόρι (el) n (agóri)
• Greenlandic: angutaat
• Guarani:

  Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} kichiha

• Hebrew: חבר \ חָבֵר (he) m (khavér)
• Hindi: बॉयफ़्रेंड m (bŏyfreṇḍ), प्रेमी (hi) m (premī) (also lover), साथी (hi) (sāthī) (partner), प्रिय (hi) m (priya), पुरुष मित्र m (puruṣ mitra), मित्र (hi) m (mitra) (friend), दोस्त (hi) m (dost) (friend)
• Icelandic: kærasti (is) m
• Ido: amoratulo
• Interlingua: nuptio
• Irish: stócach m, buachaill (ga) m
• Italian: ragazzo (it) m, fidanzato (it) m
• Japanese: カレ (ja) (kare), 彼 (ja) (かれ, kare) (also "he" (pronoun)), 彼氏 (ja) (かれし, kareshi), カレシ (ja) (kareshi), ボーイフレンド (ja) (bōifurendo)
• Kapampangan: tau m, irug m
• Khmer: មិត្តប្រុស (mɨt proh)
• Korean: 남자친구(男子親舊) (ko) (namjachin'gu), 남친(男親) (ko) (namchin) (colloquial), 보이프렌드 (ko) (boipeurendeu) (dated, before 1980s), 애인(愛人) (ko) (aein) (boyfriend or girlfriend)
• Lao: ຜູ້ບ່າວ (phū bāo)
• Latin: amāns (la) m or f, amātor (la) m, amīculus m, amīcus (la) m
• Lithuanian: vaikinas (lt) m, draugas (lt) m
• Louisiana Creole: lamour, bo, kalin, boyfrìnn
• Luxembourgish: Frënd (lb) m
• Macedonian: момче (mk) n (momče), дечко m (dečko), пријател (mk) m (prijatel)
• Malagasy: sipa (mg)
• Malay: teman lelaki (ms)
• Marathi: बॉयफ्रेंड m (bŏyaphreṇḍa)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: найз банди (najz bandi)

• Navajo: hweʼeshkii
• Norman: galant m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kjæreste (no) m

  Nynorsk: kjærast m, kjæraste m

• Old Tupi: aba'yba
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: دوسْت‌پِسَر (dust-pesar), حَبیب (habib) (lover)

• Polish: chłopak (pl) m, sympatia (pl) f (colloquial, boyfriend or girlfriend), przyjaciel (pl) m
• Portuguese: namorado (pt) m
• Romanian: prieten (ro) m, iubit (ro) m, amant (ro) m
• Romansh: marus m
• Russian: кавале́р (ru) m (kavalér), друг (ru) m (drug), па́рень (ru) m (párenʹ), возлю́бленный (ru) m (vozljúblennyj), бойфре́нд (ru) m (bojfrɛ́nd), ухажёр (ru) m (uxažór), прия́тель (ru) m (prijátelʹ), дружо́к (ru) m (družók), молодой человек (ru) m (molodoj čelovek)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: irgi

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: де̏чко m, при̏јатељ m

  Latin: dȅčko (sh) m, prȉjatelj (sh) m

• Slovak: priateľ (sk) m
• Slovene: fant (sl) m, prijatelj (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: pśijaśel m

• Spanish: novio (es) m, pololo (es) m (Chile), enamorado (es) m, chongo (es) m (Argentina), jevo m (Latin America), gebo m (Puerto Rico)
• Swahili: mpenzi (sw)
• Swedish: pojkvän (sv) c, kille (sv) c (informal), käraste (sv) c
• Tagalog: nobyo
• Tajik: дӯстписар (düstpisar), маҳбуб (mahbub), маъшуқ (ma'šuq)
• Thai: แฟน (th) (fɛɛn) (boyfriend or girlfriend)
• Tibetan: དགའ་རོགས (dga' rogs)
• Turkish: erkek arkadaş, sevgili (tr)
• Ukrainian: коха́ний (uk) m (koxányj), па́рубок (uk) m (párubok), хло́пець (uk) m (xlópecʹ), друг (uk) m (druh), при́ятель m (prýjatelʹ)
• Urdu: بای فْرینْڈ m (bāī frenḍ), بوائے فَرینْڈ m (boe farenḍ), حَبِیب m (habīb)
• Venetan: moros (vec) m, moroxo (vec) m
• Vietnamese: bạn trai, người yêu (vi) (also girlfriend; lover)
• Walloon: galant (wa) m, madjopin (wa) m
• Welsh: cariad (cy) m (also girlfriend), sboner (cy) m (also girlfriend)

male friend

• Arabic: صَدِيق m (ṣadīq), رَفِيق m (rafīq), زَمِيل m (zamīl)
• Armenian: ընկեր (hy) (ənker)
• Catalan: amic (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男的朋友 (nán de péngyou) (male friend), ^{(please verify)} 哥們兒 / 哥们儿 (zh) (gēmenr) (buddy)

• Czech: přítel (cs) m, kamarád (cs) m
• Esperanto: amikiĉo (neologism), viramiko
• Finnish: kaveri (fi), ystävä (fi)
• French: un ami (fr) m, un copain (fr) m
• German: Freund (de) m (see Freund: Usage notes)
• Hebrew: חבר \ חָבֵר (he) m (khavér)
• Icelandic: vinur (is) m
• Ido: amikulo (io)
• Italian: amico (it) m
• Kapampangan: lalaking kaluguran m
• Korean: 남사친 (namsachin) (slang)
• Latin: amīcus (la) m
• Lithuanian: draugas (lt) m
• Luxembourgish: Frënd (lb) m
• Malay: teman lelaki (ms), kawan lelaki
• Marathi: मित्र m (mitra)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: venn (no) m

• Polish: przyjaciel (pl) m, kumpel (pl) m
• Portuguese: amigo (pt) m
• Romanian: prieten (ro) m, amic (ro) m
• Russian: друг (ru) m (drug), прия́тель (ru) m (prijátelʹ), това́рищ (ru) m (továrišč)
• Spanish: amigo (es) m
• Swedish: killkompis (sv) c
• Turkish: arkadaş (tr)
• Venetan: amigo (vec) m
• Volapük: hiflen (vo) (see flen)

Verb

boyfriend (third-person singular simple present boyfriends, present participle boyfriending, simple past and past participle boyfriended) (ambitransitive, informal, rare)

1. To be a boyfriend to (someone).

   Coordinate term: girlfriend

   • 1996 February 23, Al Aab - CNED/W94, “. dr. love”, in soc.culture.egyptian‎^[3] (Usenet), archived from the original on 6 December 2025:

     3- the cutie pie, shadiah , the turk beaut who impoverished actor @imad Hemdi (of ikhmeem, upper egypt) when married together, who cost fereed il etresh his voice, when boyfriending her, who now is miT TereHa=veiled ( thanks 2 sheikh she@rawi ) :

   • 2001 April 20, Nick Gravel, “Julie Strain flicks?”, in alt.amazon-women.admirers‎^[4] (Usenet), archived from the original on 6 December 2025:

     That says the boyfriend WAS an NPC Promoter/Judge AT THE TIME he was 'boyfriending' her, and she was SIXTEEN.

   • 2002 January 17, Alberto Monteiro, “My son and the future...”, in bit.listserv.down-syn‎^[5] (Usenet), archived from the original on 6 December 2025:

     *I* married exactly 4 years after I began "boyfriending" with Silvana, and my 2nd daughter Natalia was born exactly 31 years after me :-PPPPPPPPPP

2. To have (someone) as a boyfriend.

   Coordinate term: girlfriend

   • 1989, Philip Callow, “Epilogue”, in The Painter’s Confessions, London: Allison & Busby, published 1991, →ISBN, page 285:

     Rina is out boyfriending, God help us. The last one she brought back was terrible.

   • 2007, Charlotte Mendelson, chapter 5, in When We Were Bad, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, pages 52–53:

     Her husband hurries home after work; her sister, if not boyfriending or tired, takes the girls and Max on subsidized trips to the Rubins’ favorite café, where they are petted and given mugs of cappuccino foam.

   • 2008, Dana Reinhardt, How to Build a House: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Wendy Lamb Books, →ISBN, page 104:

     Poor Seth. He has it bad for Marisol. He buzzes around her constantly like a big, sweaty fly, and she’s too nice to tell him to back off. Also, boyfriending him seems to do absolutely nothing to deter him.

Anagrams

• friend boy, friendboy

Finnish

Etymology

From English boyfriend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboi̯frend/, [ˈbo̞i̯fre̞nd]
• Rhymes: -oifrend

Noun

boyfriend (rare)

1. boyfriend

Declension

Inflection of boyfriend (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		boyfriend	boyfriendit
genitive		boyfriendin	boyfriendien
partitive		boyfriendiä	boyfriendejä
illative		boyfriendiin	boyfriendeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		boyfriend	boyfriendit
accusative	nom.	boyfriend	boyfriendit
	gen.	boyfriendin
genitive		boyfriendin	boyfriendien
partitive		boyfriendiä	boyfriendejä
inessive		boyfriendissä	boyfriendeissä
elative		boyfriendistä	boyfriendeistä
illative		boyfriendiin	boyfriendeihin
adessive		boyfriendillä	boyfriendeillä
ablative		boyfriendiltä	boyfriendeiltä
allative		boyfriendille	boyfriendeille
essive		boyfriendinä	boyfriendeinä
translative		boyfriendiksi	boyfriendeiksi
abessive		boyfriendittä	boyfriendeittä
instructive		—	boyfriendein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of boyfriend (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative boyfriendini boyfriendini accusative nom. boyfriendini boyfriendini gen. boyfriendini genitive boyfriendini boyfriendieni partitive boyfriendiäni boyfriendejäni inessive boyfriendissäni boyfriendeissäni elative boyfriendistäni boyfriendeistäni illative boyfriendiini boyfriendeihini adessive boyfriendilläni boyfriendeilläni ablative boyfriendiltäni boyfriendeiltäni allative boyfriendilleni boyfriendeilleni essive boyfriendinäni boyfriendeinäni translative boyfriendikseni boyfriendeikseni abessive boyfriendittäni boyfriendeittäni instructive — — comitative — boyfriendeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative boyfriendisi boyfriendisi accusative nom. boyfriendisi boyfriendisi gen. boyfriendisi genitive boyfriendisi boyfriendiesi partitive boyfriendiäsi boyfriendejäsi inessive boyfriendissäsi boyfriendeissäsi elative boyfriendistäsi boyfriendeistäsi illative boyfriendiisi boyfriendeihisi adessive boyfriendilläsi boyfriendeilläsi ablative boyfriendiltäsi boyfriendeiltäsi allative boyfriendillesi boyfriendeillesi essive boyfriendinäsi boyfriendeinäsi translative boyfriendiksesi boyfriendeiksesi abessive boyfriendittäsi boyfriendeittäsi instructive — — comitative — boyfriendeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative boyfriendimme boyfriendimme accusative nom. boyfriendimme boyfriendimme gen. boyfriendimme genitive boyfriendimme boyfriendiemme partitive boyfriendiämme boyfriendejämme inessive boyfriendissämme boyfriendeissämme elative boyfriendistämme boyfriendeistämme illative boyfriendiimme boyfriendeihimme adessive boyfriendillämme boyfriendeillämme ablative boyfriendiltämme boyfriendeiltämme allative boyfriendillemme boyfriendeillemme essive boyfriendinämme boyfriendeinämme translative boyfriendiksemme boyfriendeiksemme abessive boyfriendittämme boyfriendeittämme instructive — — comitative — boyfriendeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative boyfriendinne boyfriendinne accusative nom. boyfriendinne boyfriendinne gen. boyfriendinne genitive boyfriendinne boyfriendienne partitive boyfriendiänne boyfriendejänne inessive boyfriendissänne boyfriendeissänne elative boyfriendistänne boyfriendeistänne illative boyfriendiinne boyfriendeihinne adessive boyfriendillänne boyfriendeillänne ablative boyfriendiltänne boyfriendeiltänne allative boyfriendillenne boyfriendeillenne essive boyfriendinänne boyfriendeinänne translative boyfriendiksenne boyfriendeiksenne abessive boyfriendittänne boyfriendeittänne instructive — — comitative — boyfriendeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative boyfriendinsä boyfriendinsä accusative nom. boyfriendinsä boyfriendinsä gen. boyfriendinsä genitive boyfriendinsä boyfriendiensä partitive boyfriendiään boyfriendiänsä boyfriendejään boyfriendejänsä inessive boyfriendissään boyfriendissänsä boyfriendeissään boyfriendeissänsä elative boyfriendistään boyfriendistänsä boyfriendeistään boyfriendeistänsä illative boyfriendiinsä boyfriendeihinsä adessive boyfriendillään boyfriendillänsä boyfriendeillään boyfriendeillänsä ablative boyfriendiltään boyfriendiltänsä boyfriendeiltään boyfriendeiltänsä allative boyfriendilleen boyfriendillensä boyfriendeilleen boyfriendeillensä essive boyfriendinään boyfriendinänsä boyfriendeinään boyfriendeinänsä translative boyfriendikseen boyfriendiksensä boyfriendeikseen boyfriendeiksensä abessive boyfriendittään boyfriendittänsä boyfriendeittään boyfriendeittänsä instructive — — comitative — boyfriendeineen boyfriendeinensä

Synonyms

• poikakaveri
• poikaystävä

Further reading

• “boyfriend”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[6] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023