朋友 -- friend or boyfriend/girlfriend?
I've read that 朋友 (péngyou) means both friend and boyfriend/girlfriend, is that true? And if so, how do you make distinctions in the written and in the spoken language, to avoid misunderstandings?

In other words... How to avoid the friendzone in chinese? :)

Question

朋友 --> friend or boyfriend/girlfriend?
I've read that 朋友 (péngyou) means both friend and boyfriend/girlfriend, is that true? And if so, how do you make distinctions in the written and in the spoken language, to avoid misunderstandings?

In other words... How to avoid the friendzone in chinese? :)

Answer

It's simple:
朋友 = friend
男朋友 = boyfriend (we talk about actual relationship)
女朋友 = girlfriend (same here)

Answer

this is a very tricky one. if you are still a beginning learner then i just recommend you to memorize “朋友 means friends” at this stage.this is the real and original meaning of the word 朋友,while boyfriend/girlfriend meaning is just a language custom.

Answer

朋友 means friend.
However, given that Chinese culture is a high context culture, we also say '他们在处朋友', which means 'they fall in love'