<p>Words you could use to approach your friends in Chinese with are: </p>

<p>老爸 (lao ba) for a dad or 老妈 (lao ma) for a mom. 老兄 (lao xiong) and 老哥 (lao ge) for older male persons and 老姐 (lao jie) for an older female person. 老弟 (lao di) for a younger male person and 老妹 (lao mei) for a younger female person.
In all of the mentioned examples, 老 (lao) doesn't mean old. Its closest English equivalent might be "dear". As in "dear ((younger)(fe)male) friend", "dear mother" etc. </p>

<p>Another way for approaching a good friend with whom one shares a lot of interests is 好小子 (hao xiao zi), which is an expression used irrespective of age.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T21:49:58.273Z
Sorry, I think my question was a bit ambiguous, so I edited it to make it more clear what I was actually asking.
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T08:36:56.483Z
The OP asks for a word to approach his friends with, not for an ice-breaker sentence.
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T18:54:55.230Z
2014-06-04T21:34:37.797Z
2014-06-04T21:34:37.797Z
ChineseHulu.com
<p>You can use their name - or if you really are close to them probably their nickname. </p>

<p>If it's family you probably need to use their position in the family relative to you 'name'.</p>

<p>More general things:
哥们儿：for friends
朋友：for friends
亲家：for the in laws </p>

<p>Edit: just wanna add 老兄: for friend (you'll sound pretty awesome if you call your friend (male of course - hence the whole 兄 thing going on over there) this).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T05:59:14.077Z
I would appreciate it if you could also mention pinyin forms
azerafati
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T08:27:04.337Z
@user3306356 - If you say 兄 (xiong, 1st tone) is an awesome way to address your friend with, could you evaluate why that is? Also, I looked up the direct meaning of 兄 which is elder brother, so obviously we are curious to know whether this can only be said to an older friend?
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T09:03:39.430Z
sorry maybe it wasnt clear it's 老兄 together - it means like 'chap' or 'dude' :: irregardless of age
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T00:44:16.380Z
2014-05-28T00:44:16.380Z
Mou某
<p>Either close friends, family friends or fun/casual friends. E.g. "hey ... (close/family/fun friend), what are you up to?" I am looking for a word to replace the "close/family/fun friend" with.</p>

<meaning-in-context><expressions>
What word could you use to approach your friend in Chinese with?
# What word could you use to approach your friend in Chinese with?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-05-27)

Either close friends, family friends or fun/casual friends. E.g. "hey ... (close/family/fun friend), what are you up to?" I am looking for a word to replace the "close/family/fun friend" with.

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, expressions


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-05-27. Score: 2

Words you could use to approach your friends in Chinese with are:

老爸 (lao ba) for a dad or 老妈 (lao ma) for a mom. 老兄 (lao xiong) and 老哥 (lao ge) for older male persons and 老姐 (lao jie) for an older female person. 老弟 (lao di) for a younger male person and 老妹 (lao mei) for a younger female person.
In all of the mentioned examples, 老 (lao) doesn't mean old. Its closest English equivalent might be "dear". As in "dear ((younger)(fe)male) friend", "dear mother" etc.

Another way for approaching a good friend with whom one shares a lot of interests is 好小子 (hao xiao zi), which is an expression used irrespective of age.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Sorry, I think my question was a bit ambiguous, so I edited it to make it more clear what I was actually asking.  
> **username_0**: The OP asks for a word to approach his friends with, not for an ice-breaker sentence.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-05-28. Score: 0

You can use their name - or if you really are close to them probably their nickname.

If it's family you probably need to use their position in the family relative to you 'name'.

More general things:
哥们儿：for friends
朋友：for friends
亲家：for the in laws

Edit: just wanna add 老兄: for friend (you'll sound pretty awesome if you call your friend (male of course - hence the whole 兄 thing going on over there) this).

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I would appreciate it if you could also mention pinyin forms  
> **username_0**: @user3306356 - If you say 兄 (xiong, 1st tone) is an awesome way to address your friend with, could you evaluate why that is? Also, I looked up the direct meaning of 兄 which is elder brother, so obviously we are curious to know whether this can only be said to an older friend?  
> **username_2**: sorry maybe it wasnt clear it's 老兄 together - it means like 'chap' or 'dude' :: irregardless of age  

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