Definition

1. Noun:

   • Friend, companion, comrade: A person you know well and have a close, equal relationship with, often due to shared interests, circumstances, ideals, or activities.
   • (Historical/Regional) Farmhand, seasonal laborer: In older or specific contexts, a man hired for seasonal or specific labor.
   • Ally, supporter: A person, group, or country that shares your views or supports your cause.
   • (Used as a suffix) Fellow, counterpart: Denotes a closely related or counterpart unit or group.

2. Verb (colloquial):

   • To befriend, to become friends (with): To establish a friendly relationship. An abbreviation of "kết bạn".

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Cô ấy là bạn thân nhất của tôi. (She is my closest friend.)
  • Họ là bạn cùng lớp đại học. (They are university classmates. / They are fellow university students.)
  • Chúng tôi chào đón các vận động viên từ nước bạn. (We welcome athletes from a friendly country.)
  • Đội bạn đã thi đấu rất fair-play. (The opposing/fellow team played very fairly.)

• Verb:

  • Tôi muốn bạn với anh ấy. (I want to befriend him. / I want to become friends with him.)

Advanced Usage

• "bạn trăm năm": Literally "a friend of a hundred years". A poetic term for a spouse (husband or wife), emphasizing lifelong partnership.

  • Cô ấy đã tìm thấy bạn trăm năm của mình. (She has found her lifelong partner/spouse.)

• "chọn bạn mà chơi": An idiom meaning "one must choose one's friends (wisely)".

  • Bố mẹ luôn dạy tôi phải chọn bạn mà chơi. (My parents always taught me to choose my friends carefully.)

• "phân biệt ta, bạn, thù": To distinguish between ourselves, our friends, and our enemies.

  • Trong chiến lược, việc phân biệt ta, bạn, thù là rất quan trọng. (In strategy, distinguishing between allies, friends, and enemies is very important.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bạn bè (n): Friends (plural, collective). Often used to refer to one's circle of friends.

  • Bạn bè tôi rất thân thiết. (My friends are very close.)

• Bạn học (n): Schoolmate, classmate, fellow student.

• Bạn đường (n): Travel companion.
• Bạn chiến đấu (n): Comrade-in-arms, companion-in-arms.
• Bạn thân (n): Close friend, intimate friend.
• Bạn gái (n): Girlfriend (or a female friend, depending on context).
• Bạn trai (n): Boyfriend (or a male friend, depending on context).

Synonyms

• Bằng hữu (n, literary): Friend, companion.
• Đồng chí (n): Comrade (often with political or organizational connotation).
• Bè bạn (n): Friends, pals (collective).
• Tri kỷ (n): Bosom friend, confidant(e).

Related Phrases (Compound Words)

• Bạn đồng hành: Fellow traveler, companion on a journey.
• Bạn đồng nghiệp: Colleague, fellow worker.
• Bạn nối khố: (Very intimate friend) An inseparable, bosom friend (somewhat archaic/idiomatic).
• Làm bạn: To become friends; can also mean to marry (as in "làm bạn trăm năm").

Related Idioms

• "Thêm bạn bớt thù": (To gain friends and reduce enemies). A proverb advocating for diplomacy and building alliances.
  • Chính sách ngoại giao của chúng tôi là thêm bạn bớt thù. (Our foreign policy is to make more friends and fewer enemies.)

noun

1. Friend, fellow, comrade
   • bạn chiến đấu
     comrade-in-arms, companion-in-arms
   • chọn bạn mà chơi
     one must choose one's friend
   • phân biệt ta, bạn, thù
     to make a difference between ourselves, our friends and our enemies
   • nước bạn
     a friendly country
   • bạn trăm năm
     spouse, husband or wife (for bad and for good)
   • làm bạn
     to marry each other, to become man and wife
   • hai người làm bạn với nhau đã được một con
     they married (each other) and have got a child