男朋友
nán péngyou/nän³⁵ pʰɤŋ³⁵ joʊ̯³/
In Chinese, "bf" is translated as 男朋友 (nán péngyou).
The term refers to a male partner in a romantic relationship. While 男朋友 is the standard term, Chinese speakers often use the English letters bf or gf in text messaging and social media rather than the full Chinese characters.
Which one should you use?
The standard term is 男朋友, but you may also encounter the informal term 男票.
Is it said differently in some regions?
男票 is an informal term for boyfriend popular among young people in Mainland China.
How do you pronounce it?
nán péngyou (/nän³⁵ pʰɤŋ³⁵ joʊ̯³/)
Did you know?
- The slang term 男票 (nán piào) replaces the word for 'friend' with 票 (piào), which means 'ticket'. This creates a playful image of the boyfriend as a 'ticket' or a prize to be won.
- In Chinese internet culture, the term 单身狗 (dānshēn gǒu), meaning 'single dog', is often used by people who do not have a 男朋友 or 女朋友 to jokingly describe their loneliness.
- The term 渣男 (zhā nán) literally translates to 'dregs man' or 'residue man'. It describes a boyfriend who is like the waste left at the bottom of a filter, lacking any moral value.
Examples in context
- 我很喜欢我的男友。I really like my boyfriend.
- 他是我的男朋友。Tā shì wǒ de nán péngyǒu.He is my boyfriend.
- 我想见我的男朋友。Wǒ xiǎng jiàn wǒ de nán péngyǒu.I want to see my boyfriend.
- 她的男朋友很帅。Tā de nán péngyǒu hěn shuài.Her boyfriend is very handsome.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a party.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你的男朋友来参加派对吗？Nǐ de nánpéngyǒu lái cānjiā pàiduì ma?Is your boyfriend coming to the party?
- 雨婷 Yuting他今天太忙了，不能来。Tā jīntiān tài máng le, bùnéng lái.He is too busy today, he cannot come.
- 志强 Zhiqiang太可惜了，我想见见他。Tài kěxī le, wǒ xiǎng jiànjiàn tā.That's a pity, I wanted to meet him.
- 雨婷 Yuting下次我介绍你们认识。Xiàcì wǒ jièshào nǐmen rènshi.I will introduce you next time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 男朋友, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
