The name Friend in Chinese / Japanese...

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

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.

摯友 is one way to say best friend in Chinese.

The first character can mean “honest” or “most sincere.” The second character means “friend” or “friends” (plural forms work differently in Chinese).

See Also:  Soulmates

Depending on the context, 教友 can mean Christian or “friend of the same religion.”

While technically, it could be any religion, this is used mainly within the Christian faith. You can also translate this as “Christian friend” and, in some cases, “Church member.”

至友 is one way to say best friend in Chinese.

The first character can mean “most,” “extreme,” or “best.”
The second character means “friend” or “friends” (plural forms work differently in China).

Can also be translated as “close friend” or “most intimate friend.”

See Also:  Soulmates

真の友 is “true friend” in Japanese.

夠朋友 is a colloquial title in Chinese meaning “to be a true friend.”

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.

良師益友 is a Chinese proverb or word that means good teacher and helpful friend.

In the most simple translation, these 4 characters mean mentor.

盟友 means a sworn friend or ally. If you stand on the same side of an issue with someone and perhaps fight for the same cause together, this is the term you would use to describe such a partner.

There may not be a personal relationship, as this term is also used to describe whole countries that make a coalition or fight against a common enemy.

This would be most appropriate if you are a high-level military officer, giving this wall scroll to an officer of another country as you join forces together and go to war.

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.”

親友 is the Japanese way to say “best friend.”

The first character can mean “relative” or sometimes “parents.” The second character means “friend.” Think about the close relationship that Japanese people have with their parents and relatives, and this starts to mean “close friends.”

Some Japanese-English dictionaries also translate this as “bosom friend,” “old friend,” “intimate friend,” “buddy,” “crony” or “chum.”

Note that in Chinese, this means “relatives and friends.” It's a good meaning in Chinese, but it's not quite the same as “best friends.”

至交 is an alternate way to say best friend in Chinese.

The first character can mean “most,” “extreme” or “best.” The second character means “making friends” or “building friendship.” There's sort of a suggestion with the second character that fate caused you to intersect in life and become friends (that character can mean intersection in some context).

This can also mean “most intimate friend,” “very good friend of long-standing,” or “closest friend.”

See Also:  Soulmates

至愛 can mean the best love or most sincere love of your life.

This could be a romantic love such as your love for your spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend.

It can also apply to the extreme love you have for your children or a parent and maybe a really good friend.

See Also:  I Love You

These two characters mean compassion and sympathy in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which makes this word universal.

Compassion is caring and understanding someone is hurt or troubled (even if you don't know them). It is wanting to help, even if all you can do is listen and say kind words. You forgive mistakes. You are a friend when someone needs a friend.

See Also:  Caring | Kindness

This is a less-common way to write “friend” in Chinese and Japanese.

This is also a given name Yuujin or Yujin, or another romanization for the given name Tomohito.

最愛 is a Japanese word that means the best love, beloved, or most sincere love of your life.

This could be a romantic love such as your love for your spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend.

It can also apply to the extreme love you have for your children or a parent and maybe a really good friend.

像水一樣 is a short quote from a much longer statement by Bruce Lee.

He summarized how people should be flexible to all circumstances, attacks, or situations. In the end, he exclaims, “Be like water, my friend.” 像水一樣 is the “Be like water” part alone since that seems to be what most people want.

至 is a little strange as calligraphy, but 至 would be the character that means “best” or “extreme” in Chinese and Korean.

The problem is, this is seldom used alone. It's mostly used in combination with other characters to make words like “best friend,” “best food,” and “best love.”

I do not recommend this character for a wall scroll. It's better if you find a more specific term that fits your circumstances.

Note: This can be pronounced in Japanese and has a similar meaning but it is rarely if ever used in modern Japanese.