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How can you tell normal male friends and boyfriend apart in German?
My teacher told me that "mein Freund" means "my boyfriend". Does "meine Freunden" means "my male friends"? How can one talk about one of her male friends without mistaking him for her boyfriend?
Is it the same to normal female friend / girlfriend?
Is it the same to normal female friend / girlfriend?
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"Freund" itself can be used in both ways. In general (if it was not explained different in the context before) if you refer to "mein Freund / meine Freundin" of a different sex of yours it is understood to be your boyfriend. Same sex will be understood as a normal friend.
To make it clear, that you don`t mean a boyfriend you can use "Bekannter" like it is mentioned above, but that`s a weaker connection like aquaintance in English.
A common way to make it clear that it`s a normal friend is to use "ein guter Freund" (a friend) or "ein guter Freund von mir" (my friend).
The other way round, if you want to know if someone has a boyfriend/girlfriend you have several possibilities:
"Sind Sie (mit jemandem) liiert?" - VERY formal.
"Sind Sie (schon) vergeben?! - quite formal
"Haben Sie einen festen Freund / eine feste Freundin?" - "fester" Freund here makes it clear, that you are not talking about a normal friend.
"Gehst du mit ihm / jemandem?" - informal way to ask if you are together with him / someone.
"Bist du / Sind Sie mit jemandem zusammen?" - Can be used with both - the polite and informal form - used with the polite form its not very formal like the others, used with the informal "du" it is still more formal than the above phrase.
To make it clear, that you don`t mean a boyfriend you can use "Bekannter" like it is mentioned above, but that`s a weaker connection like aquaintance in English.
A common way to make it clear that it`s a normal friend is to use "ein guter Freund" (a friend) or "ein guter Freund von mir" (my friend).
The other way round, if you want to know if someone has a boyfriend/girlfriend you have several possibilities:
"Sind Sie (mit jemandem) liiert?" - VERY formal.
"Sind Sie (schon) vergeben?! - quite formal
"Haben Sie einen festen Freund / eine feste Freundin?" - "fester" Freund here makes it clear, that you are not talking about a normal friend.
"Gehst du mit ihm / jemandem?" - informal way to ask if you are together with him / someone.
"Bist du / Sind Sie mit jemandem zusammen?" - Can be used with both - the polite and informal form - used with the polite form its not very formal like the others, used with the informal "du" it is still more formal than the above phrase.
I asked a similar question, a few days ago:
http://www.italki.com/answers/question/73715.htm
The answers I recieved should apply here, as well.
http://www.italki.com/answers/question/73715.htm
The answers I recieved should apply here, as well.
For a normal friend, use "Bekannter". Ein Bekannter von mir.
For boyfriend use "Freund". Er ist mein Freund.
For guys it is the other way round. Normal friend = Bekannte. Girlfriend = Freundin.
For boyfriend use "Freund". Er ist mein Freund.
For guys it is the other way round. Normal friend = Bekannte. Girlfriend = Freundin.
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