Chinese word

男朋友

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán péng yǒu

Meaning

  • nounboyfriend

Example

我的男朋友今天不上班。wǒ de nán péng yǒu jīn tiān bú shàng bān

My boyfriend has the day off today.

Illustration for 男朋友 (boyfriend)

More examples

她没有男朋友。tā méi yǒu nán péng yǒu

She does not have a boyfriend.

Core concept

One half of a romantic pair, with the partner identified as male.

Common phrases

  • 我的男朋友wǒ de nán péng yǒu

    my boyfriend

  • 没有男朋友méi yǒu nán péng yǒu

    not have a boyfriend

  • 有男朋友yǒu nán péng yǒu

    have a boyfriend

Similar words

朋友péng yǒu: A person with whom someone has a friendly relationship.
男生nán shēng: A male student or a male person in general.
男孩nán hái: A young male child.

Definition in Chinese

日常口语中指与自己有恋爱关系的男性。rì cháng kóu yǔ zhōng zhǐ yǔ zì jǐ yǒu liàn ài guān xì de nán xìng

Word origin

男 (nán, "male") + 朋友 (péngyou, "friend") forms a compound in which 朋友 can mean a romantic partner and 男 identifies that partner as male.

Usage tips

  • English speakers do not normally call a male friend a boyfriend, so the relationship context is important when choosing this English word.

Other meanings

  • romantic partnernoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word