How to say “best friend” in Japanese | 親友 (しんゆう、shin’yū)

2023.12.11

The Japanese vocabulary「親友 (しんゆう、shin’yū)」means “best friend.” Please learn the pronunciation and the example sentences.

Japanese Vocabulary and the Meaning

Key Word親友
Hiraganaしんゆう
Romaji Readingshin’yū
English Meaningbest friend

The Correct Japanese Pronunciations

Please learn the pronunciation by watching the attached video. You can also learn example sentences.

The Example Japanese Sentences

It is important to have skills in both non-honorific and honorific languages in order to use Japanese correctly.

Japanese Sentence　私わたしの親友しんゆうは東京とうきょうに住すんでいる。
Romaji ReadingWatashi no shin’yū wa Tōkyō ni sunde iru.
English MeaningMy best friend lives in Tokyo. (Plain Form)
Japanese Sentence私の親友は東京に住んでいます。
Romaji ReadingWatashi no shin’yū wa Tōkyō ni sunde imasu.
English MeaningMy best friend lives in Tokyo. (Polite Form)
Japanese Sentence私わたしの親友しんゆうはすごく頭あたまが良いい。
Romaji ReadingWatashi no shin’yū wa sugoku atama ga yoi.
English MeaningMy best friend is very smart. (Plain Form)
Japanese Sentence私の親友はすごく頭が良いです。
Romaji ReadingWatashi no shin’yū wa sugoku atama ga yoi desu.
English MeaningMy best friend is very smart. (Polite Form)
Japanese Sentence中学生ちゅうがくせいになって、親友しんゆうとは疎そ遠えんになった。
Romaji ReadingChūgakusei ni natte, shin’yū towa soen ni natta.
English MeaningWhen I became a junior high student, I lost contact with my best friends./　When I entered middle school, I lost contact with my best friends.
(Plain Form)
Japanese Sentence中学生になって、親友とは疎遠になりました。
Romaji ReadingChūgakusei ni natte, shin’yū towa soen ni narimashita.
English MeaningWhen I became a junior high student, I lost contact with my best friends./　When I entered middle school, I lost contact with my best friends.
(Polite Form)