Friendship Japanese Kanji in Japanese...

友誼 can be defined as companionship or fellowship.

This word is common in Chinese and Korean Hanja but is seldom used in Japanese anymore.

See Also:  Partnership | Friendliness

友情 can be translated as “camaraderie” or “fellowship.”

But this character combination is only used commonly in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja.

友 is the simplest way to express the idea of friends or friendship in Chinese.

It can mean friend, companion, or pal in Japanese. In Korean, it can mean friend, companion, or associate.

This single character is open to interpretation, so it can mean different things to different people (not necessarily a bad thing, as you can decide what it means to you). If you want a more concisely-defined word, you should probably pick one of our multi-character friendship-related words.

See Also:  Best Friends | Friendly | Friendship

朋 is a simple way to say friend, companion, comrade, or pal in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, or old Korean Hanja.

朋 is a very short form, so a longer two-character word for friendship might be better.

Note: In Japanese, this can also be the female given name, Yukari.

永遠の友 is a Japanese phrase about eternal friendship.

The first two characters mean eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.

The third character is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “Love, of the eternal kind.”

The last character is “friend” or “Friendship.”

See Also:  Best Friends

魂の友 is one of a few ways to write “Soul Mates” in Japanese.

The first Kanji means soul, spirit, ghost, immortal soul, the mind, or conscious mind. From Sanskrit, it's Vijñāna.

The middle character is a Japanese Hiragana connecting or possessive article that links the two ideas together.

The last Kanji means friends or friendship.

友好 is a Japanese, Chinese, and old Korean word that means friendliness.

This word can also be defined as “amity,” “friendly,” and “outgoing.”

This can be a Japanese given name Yuukou or Yuko. It can also be a Japanese surname that romanizes as Tomoyoshi.

See Also:  Friendship

伴侶 is a Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean word that expresses the kind of partnership in which a good marriage is founded.

伴侶 could also be translated as mates or companionship or as a noun to refer to a partner or companion.

This does not have to include marriage but at least refers to a partnership with a deep relationship or bond.

Note that this is not the same as a business partner. Different words are used for various types business partnerships.

See Also:  Friendship

友達 is the most common way to say “friend” in Japanese.

See Also:  Best Friends | Friendly | Friendship

承諾 embodies the idea of commitment but also means to make a big effort or to undertake a great task.

Commitment is caring deeply about something or someone. It is deciding carefully what you want to do and then giving it 100%, holding nothing back. You give your all to a friendship, a task, or something you believe in. You finish what you start. You keep your promises.

In Chinese, this word directly means to undertake something or to make a promise to do something.

Outside of the commitment idea, this particular word can also mean approval, acceptance, consent, assent, acquiescence, or agreement, depending on context (especially in Japanese and Korean). Therefore, this word is probably best if your audience is Chinese.

See Also:  Partnership | Hard Work | Dedication

寬大 is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word that means Generosity.

Generosity is giving and sharing. You share freely, not with the idea of receiving something in return. You find ways to give others happiness and give just for the joy of giving. Generosity is one of the best ways to show love and friendship.

寬大 can also be translated as charitable, magnanimity, liberality, or in some contexts, broad-mindedness.

Note: There is a tiny deviation in the first character when written in Japanese. If you choose our Japanese master calligrapher, the little dot on the lower right of the first character will be omitted. With or without the dot, this can be read in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

See Also:  Benevolence | Altruism | Charity

義 is about doing the right thing or making the right decision, not because it's easy but because it's ethically and morally correct.

No matter the outcome or result, one does not lose face if tempering proper justice.

義 can also be defined as righteousness, justice, morality, honor, or “right conduct.” In a more expanded definition, it can mean loyalty to friends, loyalty to the public good, or patriotism. This idea of loyalty and friendship comes from the fact that you will treat those you are loyal to with morality and justice.

義 is also one of the five tenets of Confucius's doctrine.

There's also an alternate version of this character sometimes seen in Bushido or Korean Taekwondo tenets. It's just the addition of a radical on the left side of the character. If you want this version, click on the image to the right instead of the button above.

This is also a virtue of the Samurai Warrior
See our page with just Code of the Samurai / Bushido here

See Also:  Judgment | Impartial | Confucius Tenets