朋 meaning and stroke order
Friend, pal, acquaintance
How to write 朋, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 朋
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- friend
How 朋 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Two people 月 walking together.
Radical: 月 (moon), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 朋
朋 is two 月 side by side. The etymology hint describes them as two people walking together, so picture two friends walking shoulder to shoulder.
朋 almost never appears alone. It lives inside words, above all 朋友 (péngyou), and in 男朋友 (nánpéngyou) boyfriend and 女朋友 (nǚpéngyou) girlfriend. Example: 他是我的老朋友。(Tā shì wǒ de lǎo péngyou.) He is my old friend.
Common mistake: Learners often write the two halves as identical full 月. In 朋 the left 月 is usually written a little narrower, and its last stroke does not hook out the same way. Also, in 朋友 the second syllable is normally said with a neutral tone, péngyou, not péngyǒu.
Common words with 朋
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend | HSK 1 |
| 女朋友 | nǚpéngyou | girlfriend | HSK 1 |
| 男朋友 | nánpéngyou | boyfriend | HSK 1 |
| 小朋友 | xiǎopéngyǒu | child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to | HSK 1 |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | HSK 1 | |
| 老朋友 | lǎo péngyou | old friend; (slang) period | HSK 2 |
| 交朋友 | jiāo péngyou | to make friends; (dialect) to start an affair with sb | HSK 2 |
| 亲朋好友 | qīnpéng-hǎoyǒu | friends and family; kith and kin | HSK 7-9 |
| 朋克 | péngkè | punk (music style) (loanword) |
朋 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 朋
Learning 朋 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 朋
How many strokes are in 朋?
朋 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 朋 mean?
朋 (péng) means friend, pal, acquaintance. A common word with it is 朋友 (péngyou), meaning "friend".
How do you pronounce 朋?
朋 is pronounced péng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 朋?
The radical of 朋 is 月, which carries the idea of "moon". Dictionaries list 朋 under this radical.
Is 朋 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 朋 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Does 男朋友 or 女朋友 just mean a male or female friend?
Usually no. 男朋友 and 女朋友 normally mean boyfriend and girlfriend in a romantic sense. To say a friend who happens to be male or female, people often say 男性朋友 or 女性朋友, or just 朋友.
Why do adults call children 小朋友?
小朋友 (xiǎopéngyǒu) literally means little friend. It is the standard friendly way to refer to or address a child, as in 小朋友，你几岁？(Xiǎopéngyǒu, nǐ jǐ suì?) Kid, how old are you?