good fences make good neighbors; a hedge between keeps friendship green
Proverb meaning that even close friends should maintain courtesy and respect boundaries.
As the saying goes, good fences make good neighbors; I try to use polite language even with long-time friends.
Standard kanji spelling for this proverb.
Variant using 有り instead of あり.
Variant using 中 instead of 仲.
Variant using 中 and 有り.
A Japanese proverb of uncertain origin, combining 親しき (classical attributive form of 親しい, 'close, intimate'), 仲 ('relationship'), にも ('even in'), 礼儀 ('courtesy, manners'), and あり ('exists').