9 Ways to Say Friend in Japanese – From Acquaintance to BFF
Close friend, best friend, childhood friend, BFF – we describe our friendships in English using adjectives before the word ‘friend’. We can use other words for people we know from work and school such as colleague, acquaintance, peer and so on.
It should come as no surprise that Japanese has more than one word for ‘friend’ ! Yes, there is a whole world outside of just tomodachi for describing our different friends in life. The kanji characters for these words can help us understand and memorize the meaning behind each way to say ‘friend’ in Japanese.
For example the kanji character 友（とも/ ゆう・ tomo / yuu ）found in tomodachi means ‘friend’, and it appears in several words about friendship. There are many types of ‘friend’ words which don’t use this kanji though, and today we hope you walk away better informed with some new vocab up your sleeve!
友達 / ともだち friend Tomodachi (友達 / ともだち) is first up and it’s the one that you probably already know. It’s divided into two kanji characters tomo (友 / とも) which means friend , and dachi ( 達 / だち) which refers to the plural form of the noun for ‘person’ (more than one).
For example watashi means ‘I’ in Japanese but watashi-tachi (私達 / わたしたち) means ‘we’ or ‘us’. So tomo-dachi literally translates to ‘friends’!
But it actually doesn’t matter whether it’s one, two or more friends you are talking about, tomodachi is both singular and plural.
For example, you might say:
Tomodachi ga shigoto wo shoukai shite kureta. 友達 が仕事を紹介してくれた。 ともだち がしごとをしょうかいしてくれた。 My friend introduced me to a job.
Or on a travel website, it might say:
Tomodachi to issho ni kyanpu wo tanoshimeru! 友達 と一緒にキャンプを楽しめる！ ともだち といっしょにキャンプをたのしめる！ Enjoy camping together with friends !
Tomodachi can be used in most situations, but it doesn’t reveal any details about the closeness of the friendship. Tomodachi could be a friend who you just enjoy spending time with, or it could mean someone you’re close to… we’ll never know!
友人 / ゆうじん friend (polite)
Yuujin (友人 / ゆうじん) is the formal version of tomodachi and shares the same first kanji 友 (friend), pronounced here as yuu with its Chinese reading ( onyomi) . If you’ve learned the Grade 1 Jōyō kanji , you will recognize the next character人 (じん/jin) which means person! Like tomodachi, yuujin can be both singular or plural, so you can refer to one or many friends using this word. The difference is that yuujin is used in formal situations while tomodachi is a casual word used by children too.
If speaking about a friend in a job interview, work, or at special event, yuujin is more appropriate:
Yuujin wo daihyou shite Yamada-sama, supeechi wo onegai itashi masu. 友人 を代表して山田様、スピーチをお願い致します。 ゆうじん をだいひょうしてやまださま、スピーチをおねがいいたします。 On behalf of her friend(s), we humbly request Ms. Yamada-sama to make a speech.
Yuujin can be used in casual conversation too, it’s just less common than tomodachi!
親友 / しんゆう close friend, best friend
Shinyuu (親友 / しんゆう) doesn’t have a direct translation in English, but we know from its kanji characters that this friend is closer than your tomodachi or yuujin.
Shin (親) means ‘intimate’ and as we know tomo / yuu （友）means ‘friend’. While ‘intimate friend’ would sound pretty weird in English, shinyuu can mean close friend or best friend. Your shinyuu is the friend you have a deep connection with and who is there during the good and bad times. They are special to you!
You can use shinyuu to distinguish this friend from the rest.
大親友 / だいしんゆう best friend, great friend, BFF
We know shinyuu is a really close friend but daishinyuu (大親友/だいしんゆう) is your BFF (best friend forever)! The first character, dai (大 / だい) means ‘big’ or ‘great’ and emphasizes that this person is indeed your number one friend.
Rie-chan, watashi tachi wa daishinyuu desho? りえちゃん、私たちは 大親友 でしょ？ りえちゃん、わたしたちは だいしんゆう でしょ？ Rie-chan, we’re best friends / BFF’s right?
仲間 / なかま mate, friend, pal, peer
Nakama (仲間 / なかま) refers to the relationship between people who do a professional or shared activity together whether its work, a hobby, a club etc.
Nakama has two kanji: 仲 (なか/ naka) which means ‘relation’ or ‘relationship’ and 間 （ ま /ma） which means ‘among’ and ‘between’.
Kare wa sakaa bu no nakama desu. 彼はサッカー部の 仲間 です。 かれはサッカーぶの なかま です。 He’s my mate from the football / soccer club.
Nakama is popular in anime because its group-oriented, and members share a common goal or aspiration.
味方 / みかた ally, supporter, comrade, partner
Mikata (味方 / みかた) describes a friendship where you are ‘on someone’s side’ or you share the same goal or circumstances. In this way it is similar to nakama, your companion through a shared activity.
Mikata introduces two completely different kanji again!
味 (mi) means taste/flavor but it also means feeling or sense.
方 ( kata) means a direction, so we could think of mikata as a sense for the same direction , if that makes it easier to remember!
Most likely said by a guy to his comrade:
Daijoubu, ore wa kimi no mikata da yo! 大丈夫、俺は君の 味方 だよ！ だいじょうぶ、おれはきみの みかた だよ！ Don’t worry, I’m on your side no matter what! / It’s okay, I’m your ally no matter what!
同僚 / どうりょう coworker, colleague
Douryou is a formal expression that we can use for our coworkers. The kanji 同 (どう / dou ) means ‘same’ in English, and 僚 (りょう/ ryou) means an official, a colleague or a companion. Therefore we can think about douryou as people who share the same workplace.
Kinou, douryou to sushi wo tabeta. 昨日、 同僚 と寿司を食べた。 きのう、 どうりょう とすしをたべた。 Yesterday, I ate sushi with my colleague .
osananajimi
幼馴染 / おさななじみ childhood friend
Osananajimi is a childhood friend you grew up with and it has an air of nostalgia about it. 幼 (おさな/ osana) means ‘childhood’, 馴 (な/ na ) is the kanji for ‘to get used to’ and 染 (じみ/ jimi) means to dye or stain.
While the last kanji is a little random, we could remember osananajimi as a friend who you knew for so long, they’re stuck in your memory like a dye stain on your clothes. How’s that for memorization?
知り合い / しりあい acquaintance
Shiriai (知り合い / しりあい) combines two words, shiri (知り) meaning ‘to know’ and ai (会い/あい) meaning ‘to meet’. Shiriai translates to ‘acquaintance’ in English, the people you meet in different settings through work or a mutual friend for example.
Kanojo no shiriai ga ooi desu. 彼女の 知り合い が多いです。 かのじょの しりあい がおおいです。 She has a large circle of acquaintances / She has many acquaintances.
A similar word to shiriai is chijin (知人/ちじん) which refers to someone whom you know by name and are familiar with.
So, now you know lots of different ways to say friend in Japanese.
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Related posts:
- How To Say ‘I’ In Japanese
- How To Say ‘You’ In Japanese
Francesca Rex-Horoi
Francesca is a freelance copywriter and teacher, who moved to Tokyo from New Zealand at age 24. A linguistics and ESL major, she spent 3 years teaching at an all-boys high school. Now based in France, she remains a self-confessed Japanophile who loves kanji, cooking, cats and the outdoors.
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How to Say Friend in Japanese: 12 Natural Ways
The generic word for friend in Japanese is 友人 ( yuujin ). Japanese people have many different ways to say the word friend . These words depend on how close the relationship is and with whom they are speaking. This article will discuss the words you can use to talk about your friend in Japanese.
Common Words for Friend in Japanese
1. 友達 ( tomodachi ) – friend.
Also, it recommended by 教育出版 (Kyoiku Shuppan) – a famous company in Japan that publishes educational materials) to write the 達 ( tachi ) in hiragana like this: 友たち ( tomotachi ) if you want to make it clear you are talking about more than one friend.
2. 友人 (Yuujin) – Friend (Polite)
3. 親友 (shinyuu) – best friend.
1. Taro has been my best friend since childhood. 太郎は子供の頃からの親友です。 ( Tarou wa kodomo no koro kara no shinyuu desu. )
4. 仲間 ( Nakama ) – Companion, Comrade
5. 味方 ( mikata ) – ally, partner, comrade.
味方 ( mikata ) on the other hand means ally or partner in English. It is used to describe someone who shares the same group or circumstances that you do.
Situational Words for Friend
6. 相棒 ( aibou ) – partner.
相棒 ( aibou ) is a not really a common word for friend in Japanese, but it is used by some people—so long as you and that friend share the same goal or purpose and works towards it together. In certain situations, aibou can even be used to speak about a friend who is also your business partner. Detectives in Japanese dramas may also call each other aibou . This word is a bit friendlier than nakama but is in the same subgenre of meaning.
7. 同僚 ( Douryou ) – Colleague, Associate
8. 同級生 ( doukyuusei ) – classmate, peer.
John and I were classmates in elementary and middle school. ジョンさんとは小学校と中学校で同級生だった。 ( Jon-san towa shougakkou to chuugakkou de doukyuusei datta. )
Japanese Slang Words for Friend
9. 友 ( tomo ) – friend (casual), 10. ダチ ( dachi ) – pal, buddy, bro.
We’re pals, right? 俺たちはダチでしょう？ ( Oretachi wa dachi deshou? )
11. ツレ ( Tsure ) – Companion
12. バディー ( badii ) – buddy, compatriot, partner.
What are some ways to say friend in your language? Let us know in the comments! Thank you for reading this article on how to say friend in Japanese!
Erin Himeno
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Writing an essay about your friend in Japanese The paragraph below has about 1000 words. It won a prize in the writing exam in Japan. Opening 「いつも、ひなちゃんのお世話をしていてえらいね」 “Itsumo, Hina-chan no osewa wo shite ite erai ne” “You always take care of Hina. Good girl / Good boy”. 私が先生方から言われる言葉です。 Watashi ga senseigata kara iwareru kotobadesu.
friend Tomodachi (友達 / ともだち) is first up and it’s the one that you probably already know. It’s divided into two kanji characters tomo (友 / とも) which means friend, and dachi ( 達 / だち) which refers to the plural form of the noun for ‘person’ (more than one). For example watashi means ‘I’ in Japanese but watashi-tachi (私達 / わたしたち) means ‘we’ or ‘us’.
友達 (ともだち) — Friend. This is the most recognizable word for “friend” that students of Japanese come across, and with good reason. It’s the most analogous in usage to the English word and has the broadest use. You’ll see the word in movie titles ( きみの友だち (きみの ともだち) — “Your Friend”), book ...
親友 (Shinyuu) – Best Friend In Japanese, the word 親友 ( shinyuu) is reserved for close friends or friends who you’ve known for a long time. It derives from the same kanji as the adjective 親しい ( shitashii ), or intimate. You can also refer to a close friend as 親しい友達 ( shitashii tomodachi) or 親しい友人 ( shitashii yuujin) for the same effect.
How to say my best friend in Japanese Japanese Translation 私の親友 Watashi no shin'yū Find more words! my best friend See Also in English best friend 親友 my pronoun じぶんの, マイ, 我が, 我, 私の friend noun 友人, 友達, 友, 味方, 知人 best adjective, adverb ベスト, 最良, 最も, 一番, 最上 Nearby Translations my best compliments my best my beloved son my beloved my beauty
Writing an essay about your friend in Japanese Hello everyone! In this post, Learn Japanese Daily will introduce to you Read more Japanese essay Write a paragraph about travelling Write a paragraph about travelling In this post, Learn Japanese Daily will introduce to you the lesson: Write a paragraph Read more Japanese essay
Translation for: 'my best friend essay' in English->Japanese dictionary. Search over 14 million words and phrases in more than 510 language pairs.
In this essay on my best friend, I will tell you about how we became friends and about her best qualities. Our Friendship Our friendship started when my best friend came in as a new admission to our class. Both of us were hesitant to talk to each other at first, but gradually we developed a bond.