He's my boy friend, not my boyfriend!
orangina
July 27, 2010 at 05:35 AM posted in I Have a QuestionThe above is a quote from an arguement I had with my older sister when I was 5 years old. In order to avoid having this argument again, I would like to know what to call a man friend with whom I am not romantically involved... If I say 我有一个男的朋友。。。would that be understood because of the 的？Is there a better way to say it?
connie
July 27, 2010 at 07:08 AM
男的朋友 is OK.
You can also say, 我有一个男性朋友。Wǒ yǒu yī ge nánxìng péngyou.
bababardwan
August 18, 2010 at 06:43 AM
Edab,
Connie above has given the Chinese way to distinguish between the two. In English the difference is that "boy [space] friend" is a friend who just so happens to be male [this is sometimes referred to as a platonic relationship...after Plato ] , and a "boyfriend" [no space you'll note] is a male you're romantically involved with.
alexyu_yxj
August 18, 2010 at 05:36 AM我比较喜欢使用“女性朋友”和“女朋友”进行区别，呵呵