良い友人

ii yūjin

good friend

彼は良い友人だ。

He is a good friend.

neutral

A person with whom one has a mutually beneficial and trusting relationship.

彼女は良い友人で、困った時はいつも助けてくれる。

She is a good friend; she always helps me when I'm in trouble.

Emphasizes reliability and positive qualities in friendship.

Collocations

良い友人関係good friendship良い友人を持つto have a good friend

Synonyms

親友良き友人信頼できる友人

Antonyms

悪い友人敵裏切り者

Related Phrases

良い友人を大切にするphrase

to cherish a good friend

Pro Tip

When to use 良い友人 vs 友人

Use '良い友人' when you want to emphasize the positive qualities of the friendship. '友人' alone is neutral and simply means 'friend.'

Gold Rule

Formality in Japanese

While '良い友人' is polite, it is still less formal than terms like '良き友人' (yoki yūjin) or '信頼できる友人' (shinrai dekiru yūjin). Choose based on context.

Word Origin

良い (ii, 'good') + 友人 (yūjin, 'friend'). The term combines the adjective '良い' (good) with the noun '友人' (friend), reflecting a positive evaluation of the friendship.

Usage Notes

Used in both formal and informal contexts. More formal than '友達' (tomodachi, friend) but less formal than '友人' (yūjin, friend) alone. Often implies a deeper, more reliable bond.

Word Breakdown

良い

good

adjective

友人

friend

noun

和英辞典

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