Definition

1. Verb (informal):

   • To become friends; to buddy up: To form a friendly relationship or companionship with someone. This is a casual, colloquial term for making friends.
   • To get married; to become partners: In a traditional or humorous context, it can mean to marry or become a couple.
   • To be adjacent; to be side by side: Used to describe things placed or located next to each other.

2. Verb (literal, less common):

   • To hit a friend: The literal, compositional meaning of striking or attacking a friend. This usage is typically for clarification or in specific contexts to avoid ambiguity with the idiomatic meanings.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to become friends):

  • Tôi đánh bạn với anh ấy hồi đại học. (I became friends with him back in university.)
  • Bọn trẻ nhanh chóng đánh bạn với nhau ở công viên. (The kids quickly buddied up with each other at the park.)

• Verb (to get married):

  • Ông bà tôi đánh bạn với nhau đã hơn 50 năm. (My grandparents have been married to each other for over 50 years.)

• Verb (to be adjacent):

  • Cánh đồng lúa đánh bạn với con sông nhỏ. (The rice field lies adjacent to the small river.)

• Verb (literal: to hit a friend):

  • Không được đánh bạn! Hãy nói chuyện để giải quyết mâu thuẫn. (Don't hit your friend! Talk to resolve the conflict.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is highly context-dependent. The intended meaning is almost always clear from the situation. When meaning "to become friends," it implies an active, informal process of building camaraderie.

Variants and Related Words

• Kết bạn (v): To make friends (more standard and neutral than "đánh bạn").

  • Cô ấy thích kết bạn với người nước ngoài. (She likes to make friends with foreigners.)

• Bạn bè (n): Friends.

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

Synonyms

• To befriend: To act as a friend to someone.
• To buddy up (with): To become friends in a casual way.
• To marry: To take as a husband or wife (for the second meaning).

Notes on Usage

• Register: "Đánh bạn" is primarily informal and conversational. It is less formal than "kết bạn."
• Ambiguity: Due to its multiple meanings, including the literal "to hit a friend," speakers often rely on context. The friendly or marital meanings are far more common in daily use than the literal one.
• Structure: It is used with the preposition "với" (with) when referring to the person one becomes friends with or marries.

verb

1. to make friend