Meaning of 交朋友
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to make friends
- (dialect) to start an affair with sb
How to use 交朋友
交朋友 is a verb plus object phrase, so you can put words between 交 and 朋友, as in 交了很多朋友 (jiāole hěn duō péngyou). It is very common when talking about school, travel, or personality. Example: 我喜欢交朋友。(Wǒ xǐhuan jiāo péngyou.) I like making friends.
交 (jiāo) means to cross or exchange, and 朋友 (péngyou) means friend. When you exchange words and time with someone, you 交朋友, you make a friend.
Common mistake: Learners often say 做朋友 (zuò péngyou) when they mean the process of making new friends. 做朋友 means to be friends with a specific person, as in 我们做朋友吧, while 交朋友 is about meeting and making friends in general. Also keep 友 (yǒu) in 朋友 neutral tone: péngyou, not péngyǒu.
交朋友 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
交 jiāo · to hand over · 6 strokes
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朋 péng · friend · 8 strokes
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友 yǒu · friend · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 交朋友.
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend |
| 女朋友 | nǚpéngyou | girlfriend |
| 男朋友 | nánpéngyou | boyfriend |
| 小朋友 | xiǎopéngyǒu | child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to |
| 网友 | wǎngyǒu | online friend; netizen; Internet user |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | |
| 交给 | jiāo gěi | to give; to deliver; to hand over |
| 老朋友 | lǎo péngyou | old friend; (slang) period |
| 友好 | yǒuhǎo | friendly; amicable; close friend |
| 交通 | jiāotōng | to be connected; traffic |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus |
| 交易 | jiāoyì | to deal; to trade; to transact; transaction; deal |
Questions about 交朋友
What does 交朋友 mean?
交朋友 (jiāo péngyou) means "to make friends; (dialect) to start an affair with sb".
How do you write 交朋友?
交朋友 is made of 3 characters: 交 (6 strokes), 朋 (8 strokes), 友 (4 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 交朋友 an HSK word?
Yes. 交朋友 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say I made a friend with someone using 交朋友?
Use 跟 or 和 before the person: 我跟他交了朋友。(Wǒ gēn tā jiāole péngyou.) I made friends with him. Do not put the person directly after 交.
Does 交朋友 ever mean dating?
In some dialects and contexts it can hint at a romantic relationship, and 交男朋友 or 交女朋友 clearly means to get a boyfriend or girlfriend. In everyday standard Mandarin, plain 交朋友 usually just means making friends.