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Kanji Detail for 友 - "friend, friendly"

友

  • Meaning

    友 means "friend, friendly." Also associated with to befriend.

    1. Friend - A companion; a comrade.

    2. To befriend - To become close; to associate; to get along.

    3. Friendly - Being on good terms; mutually supportive.

  • Words using 友

    • 友人 ゆうじん Listen friend
    • 友好 ゆうこう Listen friendship
    • 友達 ともだち Listen friend; companion
    • 友情 ゆうじょう Listen friendship; fellowship; camaraderie
    • 友愛 ゆうあい Listen fraternity; friendship
    • 血友病 けつゆうびょう Listen hemophilia; haemophilia
    • 親友 しんゆう Listen close friend; bosom friend; buddy
    • 交友 こうゆう Listen friend; companion; acquaintance

  • Four-character idioms with 友

    • 善隣友好 ぜんりんゆうこう Listen neighbourly friendship; neighborly friendship
    • 損者三友 そんしゃさんゆう Listen three kinds of harmful friends: hypocritical, sycophantic, and glib-talking ones
    • 歳寒三友 さいかんさんゆう Listen the three friends of winter (pine, bamboo and plum)
    • 益者三友 えきしゃさんゆう Listen three kinds of beneficial friends: straightforward, sincere, and well-informed ones
    • 知己朋友 ちきほうゆう Listen intimate friends and acquaintances
    • 読書尚友 どくしょしょうゆう Listen by reading books you can count the wise philosophers of the past as friends

  • Origin of 友

    Two right hands clasped, one over the other: help given and returned. Friendship drawn as a handshake, three thousand years early.

    How to remember it: Two right hands joined — mine and yours doing the same work: friend.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 友

    • Verified meaning: friend, friendly
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read とも, ともかつ, ともさき, ともじ)
    • Also carries these associations: to befriend

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 友

    Given names 友(とも)Listen 友(ゆう)Listen

    Surnames 友(ともかつ)Listen 友(ともさき)Listen 友(ともじ)Listen 友(ともすえ)Listen 友(ともむね)Listen 友(ゆうじ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    friend

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    friend, companion; fraternity

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    friend

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    friend, companion; fraternity

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Friend. Those of the same mind are friends. Friendly nations are also called 友邦. | Being good to brothers is called 友. (Book of Documents) "Only filial and friendly to brothers." Today, calling brothers 友于 is like saying 友于之樂 (the joy of brotherhood), an abbreviated expression.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    yuu(ユウ) ユウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    tomo(とも) とも

  • Strokes

    tip

    4 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    又 (mata)

  • Related Keywords

    friend friendly to befriend alliance companionship buddy pal comrade ally amicable associate companion partner

Sentences including 友

  • They are my friends.

  • A friend comes to play at our house tomorrow.

  • Did you talk to your new classmates yesterday?

  • The man swimming in the river is my friend.

  • He had friends all over the world.

  • She tried to make friends with him.

  • One of my friends knows you.

  • I'm on my way to visit a friend who's in the hospital.

  • I thought he was my special friend.

  • We have been good friends for a long time.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 又 (mata)

See all kanji with this radical →

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