JapaneseJLPT

Kanji - friend

Kanji 友 meaning and readings

Kanji means friend. Onyomi readings are ユウ (yuu) . Kunyomi readings are とも (tomo).

JLPT N5Grade 2
Stroke order animation for kanji 友

Stroke order animation (4 strokes)

Stroke Order Diagram

Each box shows the kanji up to that stroke. Red dot indicates stroke start point.

Readings of

On'yomi (音読み)

ユウ(yuu)

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

とも(tomo)
Japanese kanji 友 in different fonts

in different fonts

Vocabulary with

Audio
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friendtomodachi友達ともだち
friendshipyuujou友情ゆうじょう
Common words containing the kanji 友

More Information about

Common words with (romaji included)

  • 友だち(ともだち, tomodachi): friend (everyday word; also written 友達)
  • 友人(ゆうじん, yūjin): friend (more formal/literary)
  • 親友(しんゆう, shinyū): close/best friend
  • 友情(ゆうじょう, yūjō): friendship
  • 旧友(きゅうゆう, kyūyū): old friend
  • 悪友(あくゆう, akuyū): bad influence friend

友だち (tomodachi) vs 友人 (yūjin) — what’s the nuance?

友だち(ともだち, tomodachi) is casual and spoken. 友人(ゆうじん, yūjin) is formal/written (essays, news). Talking about someone else’s friend politely, you may hear お友だち(おともだち, otomodachi).

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