Chinese character for friendship: 友谊 (yǒuyì)
The Chinese word for friendship is 友谊 (yǒuyì). 友 means friend and 谊 means friendship or goodwill, so together they mean the bond between friends. It is used in phrases like 友谊长存 (may our friendship last forever).
How 友谊 is built
友 (yǒu) began as two right hands 又 drawn side by side, an image of people helping each other, which makes it an easy picture of friendship. 谊 (yì) combines 讠, the speech radical, with 宜 (yí, suitable, fitting), which also hints at the sound. As a memory aid, think of friendship as two hands joined plus words that are fitting and kind. The traditional form 友誼 writes the speech radical in full as 言.
友 yǒu · friend
- 又yòu — and
Origin hint: Two hands 又 joined, representing friendship; 又 also provides the pronunciation (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
谊 yì · friendship
- 讠yán — speech
- 宜yí — fitting
- 宀 — roof
- 丶 — dot
- 冖mì — cover
- 且qiě — moreover
- 月yuè — moon; month
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 宀 — roof
How 友谊 is used
Other ways to say friendship
- 友 yǒu — single character for friend; shorter for a small tattoo but means 'friend', not 'friendship'
- 情谊 qíngyì — affection and friendship, more literary
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Use the full word 友谊 (traditional 友誼) for 'friendship'; the single character 友 alone reads as 'friend'.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for friendship?
友谊 (yǒuyì) means “friendship”. In traditional characters it is written 友誼.
How do you pronounce 友谊?
友谊 is pronounced yǒuyì.
Is 友谊 simplified or traditional?
友谊 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore; 友誼 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.