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友

友 (yǒu) Chinese Character: friend; friendly

4 strokes · HSK 1 · Radical 又

Two helping hands make friendship easier to remember.

Practice 友 in the interactive lesson

Chinese character story: Two Hands Helping Each Other

友 (yǒu) carries the idea of two people helping each other like two hands working together. You will usually meet it in 朋友, “friend,” 好友, “good friend,” and 友好, “friendly.” Compared with 朋, which is rarely used alone in beginner conversation, 友 appears in several compounds about friendship and friendly relationships. The third tone yǒu falls and then rises.

🧩 Word buildingSee what every part contributes

Chinese words often combine short meaning clues. Fixed expressions are clearly marked so you do not translate them too literally.

朋友
朋companion友friend=friend
友好
友friendly好good=friendly

Chinese character origin and etymology

Oracle-bone forms of 友 show two hands aligned together, suggesting help, cooperation, or mutual support. The character came to mean friend, friendly, or to treat someone with friendship.

Four crossing and curving strokes preserve a compact image of hands reaching in the same direction. 友 works as one complete form rather than a puzzle made from smaller modern components. Learning its overall silhouette is useful because the same shape may later appear inside more complex characters.

友 in oracle bone script
Oracle bone script
友 in bronze script
Bronze script
友 in seal script
Seal script

Chinese character stroke order and structure

友 is written with 4 strokes. Learn the complete stroke sequence in the interactive lesson, then write the character from memory before checking your answer.

  • 友 — friend; friendly — learn the complete modern shape as one unit

Common usage and sentence patterns

The examples below show 友 in complete beginner-friendly sentences. Read each sentence aloud, notice where the character appears, and then replace one noun or number to create a new sentence of your own.

她是我的好友。 Tā shì wǒ de hǎoyǒu. She is my good friend.
他对朋友很友好。 Tā duì péngyou hěn yǒuhǎo. He is friendly to his friends.
这是一次友好的谈话。 Zhè shì yí cì yǒuhǎo de tánhuà. This is a friendly conversation.

Learning tips for 友

Learn the reading as one unit: yǒu, with the third tone: falling then rising. Avoid memorizing the letters without the tone mark. Say the syllable, recall the English meaning “friend; friendly,” and write the 4 strokes from memory.

Because 友 is a basic form, focus on its proportions and stroke direction. Compare it with 朋 (péng, friend; companion); 手 (shǒu, hand); 好 (hǎo, good). Similar characters are easier to remember when their different parts and meanings are studied side by side.

Quick review checklist

  • Can you recognize 友 without pinyin?
  • Can you say yǒu with the correct tone and explain “friend; friendly”?
  • Can you write all 4 strokes in order?
  • Can you use 友 in one short sentence?

Related characters

Continue learning Chinese characters

Use the Chinese radicals and components guide to understand reusable parts, the stroke order guide to improve handwriting, and the HSK 1 character overview to choose your next beginner lesson.

Sources and editorial note

HanziStory separates documented character history from modern memory stories. Historical-form images are shown only when a matching source file is available; missing stages are skipped rather than invented. Stroke practice uses HanziWriter data.

Last updated: August 12, 2026. Read our sources, editorial method, and correction policy.