友 yǒu — friend; friendly, amicable
yǒu (third tone, dipping)
friend; friendly, amicable
4 strokesRadical 又Frequency #481
Pinyin
- yǒu (third tone, dipping)
friend; friendly, amicable
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿸𠂇又The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 𠂇meaning partno entry yetA left hand, drawn as two strokes: the arm and the fingers.
- 又meaning partA right hand. Two hands reaching the same way — not grappling, but working together.
Mnemonic
Two hands, one above the other, both pointing the same way: people who pull in the same direction. Compare 双, where two hands stand side by side to mean "a pair", and 反, where a hand turns something over. 友 has four strokes only, and the trap is the first two — they are the left hand 𠂇, not the 大 or 才 they resemble at speed.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.
Words containing 友
- 朋友péngyou (second tone, rising)friend
- 女朋友nǚ (third tone, dipping) péng (second tone, rising) you (neutral tone)girlfriend
- 男朋友nán (second tone, rising) péng (second tone, rising) you (neutral tone)boyfriend
- 友好yǒu (third tone, dipping) hǎo (third tone, dipping)friendly
- 友谊友誼yǒu (third tone, dipping) yì (fourth tone, falling)companionship
- 好友hǎo (third tone, dipping) yǒu (third tone, dipping)close friend
- 小朋友xiǎo (third tone, dipping) péng (second tone, rising) yǒu (third tone, dipping)child
- 友情yǒu (third tone, dipping) qíng (second tone, rising)friendly feelings
- 老朋友lǎo (third tone, dipping) péng (second tone, rising) you (neutral tone)old friend
- 战友戰友zhàn (fourth tone, falling) yǒu (third tone, dipping)comrade-in-arms
- 亲友親友qīn (first tone, high and level) yǒu (third tone, dipping)friends and relatives
- 友善yǒu (third tone, dipping) shàn (fourth tone, falling)friendly
- 盟友méng (second tone, rising) yǒu (third tone, dipping)ally
- 交朋友jiāo (first tone, high and level) péng (second tone, rising) you (neutral tone)to make friends
- 亲朋好友親朋好友qīn (first tone, high and level) péng (second tone, rising) hǎo (third tone, dipping) yǒu (third tone, dipping)friends and family
- 友人yǒu (third tone, dipping) rén (second tone, rising)friend
- 网友網友wǎng (third tone, dipping) yǒu (third tone, dipping)online friend