朋 (péng): friend
朋 (péng) is a Chinese character meaning “friend.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 月 (structural) and 月 (structural). It ranks #882 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 朋 two people 月 walking together. Its radical form 月 (moon) appears in many related characters such as 月 (yuè, moon, month), 有 (yǒu, to have), 服 (fú, clothes, serve).
Definitions
- friend
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTwo people 月 walking together
Decomposition: ⿰月月 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 朋
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 朋友noun | péng you | friend | 1 |
| 女朋友noun | nǚ péng you | girlfriend | 1 |
| 男朋友noun | nán péng you | boyfriend | 1 |
| 小朋友noun | xiǎo péng yǒu | child | 1 |
| 亲朋好友noun | qīn péng hǎo yǒu | friends and family | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 老朋友noun | lǎo péng you | old friend |
| 交朋友verb | jiāo péng you | to make friends |
| 狐朋狗友phrase | hú péng gǒu yǒu | a pack of rogues (idiom) |
| 够朋友verb | gòu péng you | (coll.) to be a true friend |
| 亲朋noun | qīn péng | relatives and friends |
| 朋克noun | péng kè | punk (music style) (loanword) |
| 高朋满座phrase | gāo péng mǎn zuò | surrounded by distinguished friends (idiom) |
| 多个朋友多条路 | duō gè péng yǒu duō tiáo lù | the more friends you have, the more options you have in life (idiom) |
| 三朋四友 | sān péng sì yǒu | friends |
| 好朋友noun | hǎo péng you | good friend |
| 在家靠父母，出外靠朋友 | zài jiā kào fù mǔ , chū wài kào péng you | one depends on one's parents when at home, and on one's friends when away from home (idiom) |
| 谈朋友 | tán péng you | to be dating sb |
| 在家靠父母，出门靠朋友 | zài jiā kào fù mǔ , chū mén kào péng you | one depends on one's parents when at home, and on one's friends when away from home (idiom) |
| 呼朋引类 | hū péng yǐn lèi | to call up all one's associates |
| 朋友妻不可欺proverb | péng you qī bù kě qī | you should not covet your friend's wife (idiom) |
朋 appears in 34 compound words: 21 as the first character, 12 as the last, and 68 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 朋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
guests filled all the seats (idiom); a house full of distinguished visitors
Example Sentences
朋友之间应该互相帮助，有困难时要伸出援手。
Péngyou zhījiān yīnggāi hùxiāng bāngzhù, yǒu kùnnan shí yào shēnchū yuánshǒu.
Friends should help each other and lend a hand when in difficulty.
来酒吧找朋友...不消费遭店家赶出门 女在门口狂呛...
lái jiǔ ba zhǎo péng yǒu . . . bù xiāo fèi zāo diàn jiā gǎn chū mén nǚ zài mén kǒu kuáng qiàng . . .
Come to the bar to find a friend... I was kicked out of the store if I didn't consume, and the woman choked at the door...
与父母做朋友,代际相处的新范式
yǔ fù mǔ zuò péng yǒu , dài jì xiāng chǔ de xīn fàn shì
Be friends with your parents, a new paradigm of intergenerational relationships
小朋友拜年:祝爷爷奶奶早生贵子!
xiǎo péng yǒu bài nián : zhù yé yé nǎi nǎi zǎo shēng guì zǐ !
New Year's greetings for children: I wish grandparents a baby soon!
和首都女铁骑,做一天朋友
hé shǒu dū nǚ tiě qí , zuò yī tiān péng yǒu
I'll be friends for a day with the Capital Rangers.
他是我的朋友。你们认识吗？
Tā shì wǒ de péngyou. nǐmen rènshi ma?
He's my friend. Do you know him?
你的朋友近来在忙些什么？
Nǐ de péngyou jìnlái zài máng xiē shénme?
What has your friend been doing recently?
你也邀请你的朋友了吗？
Nǐ yě yāoqǐng nǐ de péngyou le ma?
You've invited your friends as well?
我们就不能只做朋友吗？
Wǒmen jiù bù néng zhǐ zuò péngyou ma?
Can't we just be friends?
你最有趣的朋友是谁？
Nǐ zuì yǒuqù de péngyou shì shéi?
Who's your most interesting friend?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 朋 (péng) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 朋 (péng)?
Is 朋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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