想做朋友
xiǎng zuò péngyou
The English phrase "want to be friends" is translated into Chinese as 想做朋友 (xiǎng zuò péngyou).
The phrase is used to express a desire to start a friendship with someone. It focuses on the state of being friends with a specific person.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 想 (want), 做 (to be/to do) and 朋友 (friend).
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between 想做朋友 (xiǎng zuò péngyou) and 想交朋友 (xiǎng jiāo péngyou). While 想做朋友 focuses on the state of being friends with a specific person, 想交朋友 is used more generally to mean "wanting to make friends" in a broader social setting.
How does it change in a sentence?
A common way to turn the phrase into a question is to add the particle 吗 at the end of the sentence, as seen in 我们可以做朋友吗？
How do you pronounce it?
xiǎng zuò péngyou
Did you know?
- Chinese has a specific term 死党 (sǐ dǎng), literally 'death party', to describe a best friend who would stay by your side until death.
- To describe a 'fake friend' or an acquaintance, Chinese speakers might use 点头之交 (diǎntóu zhī jiāo), which literally means 'a friendship of nodding heads'.
- In some Chinese dialects, the way one 'builds' a friendship relies heavily on the concept of 'guanxi', or social connections, which is much more formal than the English concept of 'making friends'.
Example conversation
Two new classmates meet during a break.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你好，我叫佳怡，想做朋友。Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Jiāyí, xiǎng zuò péngyǒu.Hello, I'm Jiayi, and I want to be friends.
- 志强 Zhiqiang没问题，我叫志强。Méi wèntí, wǒ jiào Zhìqiáng.No problem, my name is Zhiqiang.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你来自哪个城市？Nǐ láizì nǎge chéngshì?Which city are you from?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我来自上海。Wǒ láizì Shànghǎi.I am from Shanghai.
