<p>I think in English we say boy/girl friend for friendship and boyfriend/girlfirend for relationship. In Chinese, the counterpart is 男性(Xing )朋友/女性(Xing )朋友 for friendship. 男朋友/女朋友 indicates relationship in general.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-03T02:22:50.123Z
2018-01-03T02:22:50.123Z
moiaussi06
<p>Yes.</p>

<p>The English words boyfriend/girlfriend are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girlfriend#Etymology" rel="noreferrer">modern</a>; their usage to refer to romantic, unmarried relations dates to around 1922. This is also where other terms like "dating" arose.</p>

<p>Similarly, in Chinese, <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A5%B3%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B#%E8%AF%8D%E6%BA%90" rel="noreferrer">男朋友/女朋友 do not exist in pre-modern times</a>. Other terms like 佳人 would be used.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Republican_era_in_China" rel="noreferrer">Republican Era</a> saw big changes in Chinese culture and adoption of Western culture and language. It would be easy to conclude, therefore, that the words 男朋友/女朋友 were borrowed from English during this time.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-03T02:34:41.780Z
2018-01-03T02:34:41.780Z
congusbongus
<p>男朋友 and 女朋友 have the same thought process as their English counterparts, as in both words are compounded of <em>(the gender) + ("friend")</em>, even though they're actually used to refer to a romantic partner of said gender. Are there any linguistic reasons for that? Did English and Chinese-speaking nations have any contact in the past or have these 2 isolated and totally different nations had the same logic for this word specifically?</p>

<etymology><history>
Was the word 男朋友 borrowed from English (or maybe the opposite)?
# Was the word 男朋友 borrowed from English (or maybe the opposite)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-02)

男朋友 and 女朋友 have the same thought process as their English counterparts, as in both words are compounded of *(the gender) + ("friend")*, even though they're actually used to refer to a romantic partner of said gender. Are there any linguistic reasons for that? Did English and Chinese-speaking nations have any contact in the past or have these 2 isolated and totally different nations had the same logic for this word specifically?

**Tags:** etymology, history


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-03. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Yes.

The English words boyfriend/girlfriend are [modern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girlfriend#Etymology); their usage to refer to romantic, unmarried relations dates to around 1922. This is also where other terms like "dating" arose.

Similarly, in Chinese, [男朋友/女朋友 do not exist in pre-modern times](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A5%B3%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B#%E8%AF%8D%E6%BA%90). Other terms like 佳人 would be used.

The [Republican Era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Republican_era_in_China) saw big changes in Chinese culture and adoption of Western culture and language. It would be easy to conclude, therefore, that the words 男朋友/女朋友 were borrowed from English during this time.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-01-03. Score: -1

I think in English we say boy/girl friend for friendship and boyfriend/girlfirend for relationship. In Chinese, the counterpart is 男性(Xing )朋友/女性(Xing )朋友 for friendship. 男朋友/女朋友 indicates relationship in general.


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