A friend is someone who shares your joy, supports you through tough times, and brings laughter into your life.
No matter where you are in the world, the concept of friendship is universal. But how do different cultures express this important word?
In this article, we’ll explore how to say “friend” in 70 different languages, complete with pronunciation guides and example sentences.
Whether you’re traveling, learning a language, or simply curious, this guide will help you connect with the world—one friend at a time.
Translations of “Friend” in Different Languages
- English – Friend (frend)
He is my best friend. - Spanish – Amigo (male) / Amiga (female) (ah-MEE-goh / ah-MEE-gah)
Ella es mi amiga. - French – Ami (male) / Amie (female) (ah-MEE)
Il est mon ami. - German – Freund (male) / Freundin (female) (froint / FROYND-in)
Sie ist meine Freundin. - Italian – Amico (male) / Amica (female) (ah-MEE-koh / ah-MEE-kah)
Lui è il mio amico. - Portuguese – Amigo / Amiga (ah-MEE-go / ah-MEE-gah)
Ela é minha amiga. - Dutch – Vriend / Vriendin (freend / freen-DIN)
Hij is mijn vriend. - Swedish – Vän (ven)
Han är min vän. - Norwegian – Venn (ven)
Hun er min venn. - Danish – Ven (ven)
Han er min ven. - Finnish – Ystävä (OOS-tah-vah)
Hän on minun ystäväni. - Estonian – Sõber (SÖH-ber)
- Latvian – Draugs (drah-oogs)
- Lithuanian – Draugas (DROW-gahs)
- Polish – Przyjaciel (pshi-YA-chel)
- Czech – Přítel (PRZHEE-tel)
- Slovak – Priateľ (PREE-a-tel)
- Hungarian – Barát (BAH-raht)
- Romanian – Prieten (PREE-eh-ten)
- Greek – Φίλος / Φίλη (FEE-los / FEE-lee)
- Russian – Друг (droog)
- Ukrainian – Друг (drooh)
- Belarusian – Сябар (SYA-bar)
- Bulgarian – Приятел (pree-YA-tel)
- Serbian – Пријатељ (PREE-ya-tehlj)
- Croatian – Prijatelj (PREE-ya-tel)
- Slovenian – Prijatelj (PREE-ya-tel)
- Bosnian – Prijatelj (PREE-ya-tel)
- Macedonian – Пријател (PREE-ah-tel)
- Albanian – Mik (meek)
- Turkish – Arkadaş (AHR-kah-dahsh)
- Arabic – صديق (sa-DEEQ)
- Hebrew – חבר (cha-VER)
- Persian (Farsi) – دوست (doost)
- Hindi – दोस्त (dost)
- Urdu – دوست (dost)
- Bengali – বন্ধু (BON-dhoo)
- Punjabi – ਦੋਸਤ (DOH-sat)
- Gujarati – મિત્ર (MITR)
- Marathi – मित्र (MITR)
- Tamil – நண்பன் / தோழி (nan-ban / tho-zh-ee)
- Telugu – స్నేహితుడు (sneh-i-thu-du)
- Kannada – ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ (sne-hi-ta)
- Malayalam – സുഹൃത്ത് (su-hrith)
- Sinhala – මිතුරා (mithu-raa)
- Thai – เพื่อน (pheuuan)
- Lao – ໝູ່ (muu)
- Vietnamese – Bạn (ban)
- Khmer – មិត្តភក្តិ (met-pek)
- Chinese (Mandarin) – 朋友 (péng yǒu)
- Japanese – 友達 (tomo-dachi)
- Korean – 친구 (chin-gu)
- Mongolian – Найз (naiz)
- Tibetan – གྲོགས་པོ (drok-po)
- Malay – Kawan (ka-wan)
- Indonesian – Teman (tuh-MAHN)
- Filipino (Tagalog) – Kaibigan (kai-BEE-gan)
- Hawaiian – Hoa (HOH-ah)
- Samoan – Uo (oo-oh)
- Maori – Hoa (HOH-ah)
- Swahili – Rafiki (rah-FEE-kee)
- Zulu – Umngane (oom-NGAH-neh)
- Xhosa – Umhlobo (oom-HLO-bo)
- Yoruba – Ọrẹ (aw-REH)
- Igbo – Enyi (EH-nyee)
- Hausa – Aboki (ah-BOH-kee)
- Amharic – ጓደኛ (gwa-de-nya)
- Somali – Saaxiib (saa-kheeb)
- Afrikaans – Vriend (freend)
- Esperanto – Amiko (ah-MEE-koh)
💬 Final Thought
From “amigo” to “rafiki,” the word “friend” carries warmth and familiarity in every language. While the pronunciation may differ, the meaning remains universal: someone who cares. These 70 translations show how interconnected humanity truly is. After all, no matter where we live or what language we speak, everyone needs a friend.
“Friendship speaks a universal language—kindness, trust, and love.”
