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親友 (しんゆう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

親しん友ゆう

し

ん

ゆ

う

Common word›JLPTN4›Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

close friend; best friend

Refers to a very close, trusted friend; stronger than 友達. Often implies a deep, long-term bond.

彼かれは私わたしの親しん友ゆうです。
He is my best friend.

親しん友ゆうと一いっ緒しょに旅りょ行こうに行いった。

I went on a trip with my close friend.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の親しん友ゆうになるto become someone's close friend
彼かの女じょは高こう校こう時じ代だいからわたしの親しん友ゆうです。
She's been my best friend since high school.
〈人ひと〉を親しん友ゆうと呼よぶto call someone one's best friend
彼かれはいつも私わたしを親しん友ゆうと呼よんでくれる。
He always calls me his best friend.
親しん友ゆうを裏うら切ぎるto betray a close friend
そんなことで親しん友ゆうを裏うら切ぎるなんてありえない。
Betraying a close friend over something like that is unthinkable.

Kanji

親parent, intimacy, relative
友friend

Related words· 7

友とも達だちN5
友達 is the general, neutral word for 'friend', while 親友 specifically means a very close, trusted 'best friend'.
仲なか良よしN3
仲良し describes people who simply get along well, whereas 親友 implies a deeper, almost familial bond of trust.
盟めい友ゆう
親友 is an everyday close friend, while 盟友 is a formal term for an ally bound by a shared cause or pledge.
幼おさななじみN2
親友 emphasizes how close a friend is now, whereas 幼なじみ emphasizes that the friendship started in childhood, regardless of current closeness.

Show 3 more

腹ふく心しん
親友 is simply a close personal friend, whereas 腹心 implies a relationship of deep trust often tied to hierarchy or strategic confidence.
旧きゅう友ゆうN1
親友 emphasizes emotional closeness ('best friend'), whereas 旧友 emphasizes the length of time since the friendship began.
知ち己き
親友 is the common word for a 'best friend', while 知己 conveys a similar closeness but with an old-fashioned, bookish tone.

Opposites

知しり合あいN3
知り合い is just an acquaintance with little emotional closeness, the opposite end of the spectrum from a 親友.

Don't confuse with

友ゆう情じょうN3
親友 is a noun meaning a close friend (a person), whereas 友情 is the abstract feeling of friendship between friends.

Word family

大だい親しん友ゆう
best friend; very close friend

Etymology

Composed of 親 (しん, 'intimate, parent') and 友 (ゆう, 'friend'), literally meaning 'intimate friend'.