朋友

Chinese

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 朋友 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• 朋友 (Cantonese)
• Pêng-iú (Southern Min)
• Bèng-iū (Eastern Min)

Pronunciation 1

Noun

朋友

1. friend (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 位 m c)

   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.

   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.

   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.

   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.

   She and I are really just friends.

   世界上最可悲的事情，莫過於你喜歡他，他卻只把你當朋友。 [MSC, trad.]
   世界上最可悲的事情，莫过于你喜欢他，他却只把你当朋友。 [MSC, simp.]

   Shìjiè shàng zuì kěbēi de shìqíng, mòguòyú nǐ xǐhuān tā, tā què zhǐ bǎ nǐ dāng péngyǒu.

   The saddest thing in the world is liking someone but they only see you as a friend.

   1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Term of address to a South Asian person.
2. (euphemistic) boyfriend or girlfriend; partner

Synonyms

• (friend):

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "friend"):

Hyponyms

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

Derived terms

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 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Pronunciation 2

Noun

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

Others:

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

Japanese

Etymology 1

/hoː iu/ → /hoːjiu/ → /hoːjuː/

From Middle Chinese compound 朋友 (MC bong hjuwX).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ほーゆう (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

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

Borrowing from Mandarin 朋友 (péngyǒu).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ポンユー (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

朋友(ポンユー) • (pon'yū) 

1. (slang, dated) a friend

References

Vietnamese

Noun

朋友

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