9 ways to say “friend” in French | With audio pronunciation (2024)

Ami (or its feminine form, amie)is the most common way to say “friend” in French. But there are several other options.

As you learn French, may make some friends along the way, and you might want to know what to call them!

Let’s look at some common ways to say “friend” (and, sometimes, more than “friend”) in French!

9 ways to say “friend” in French

Here are the most common ways to say “friend” in French that you’ll come across. As you’ll see, many of these can also sometimes mean “boyfriend/girlfriend” or “lover,” too. Luckily, there are usually ways to tell what’s being implied.

The standard “friend” (and sometimes “boyfriend/girlfriend” or “lover”) – ami/amie

Ami(e)is the most basic, common word for “friend” in French.

This word has to agree with the person or people it’s referring to, so you’ll see it either as:

• ami– a male or unspecified friend
• amie– a female friend
• amis– more than one male friend or a group of male and female friends
• amies– more than one female friend

It can be used in formal or informal situations, so it’s the perfect go-to word for “friend” in French.

….But ami/amiecan also refer to a boyfriend/girlfriend or lover.

To tell which one a person means, as a general rule:

• If ami/amieis used with un or une, it refers to a platonic friend.
• If ami/amieis used with a possessive pronoun, it refers to a boyfriend/girlfriend or lover
• When amiand amieare in their plural forms, regardless of the article or pronoun that precedes them, it’s understood that they mean “platonic friends”, unless there’s a very explicit explanation or context otherwise.

So for instance, Elle est partie en voyage avec un ami(She went on a trip with a friend) would mean that these two are just friends; Elle habite avec un ami(She lives with a (guy) friend) means she’s living with a male friend, not a boyfriend.

These are general rules, and there are exceptions.

For instance, sometimes you can just use a possessive pronoun with ami(e)and have it mean, well, “friend”. For example, Tu es mon ami(You’re my friend) or J’ai vu ton ami Christophe au supermarché l’autre jour.(I saw your friend Christophe at the supermarket the other day.)Often, it just comes down to context.

Sometimes, certain common phrases with amiuse a possessive pronoun but are known to only refer to friendship. One of the most common of these is mon cher ami (my dear friend).

Fortunately, knowing which one is being implied is usually pretty easy to suss out by context. For instance, Elle est parti en voyage avec son amicould mean she’s gone on a trip with her boyfriend, but it’s a bit ambiguous. But if you say Elle habite avec son ami, it would be understood that she lives with her boyfriend.

Note that because most of France is still influenced by traditional, hetero-normative culture, if someone says something like Elle habite chez son amie, not everyone would necessarily understand that the women are a couple. But as French society evolves, it’s increasingly likely that it would be understood, especially by younger generations.

Examples:

Ils sont amis.(They’re friends.)

Tu es mon amie.(You’re my friend.)

Il habite avec son amie.(He lives with his girlfriend.)

Marie est une amie àmoi. (Marie is a friend of mine.)

On y va, les amis !(Let’s go, (my) friends!)

Tu vas te faire pleins d’amis.(You’re going to make lots of friends.)

Mes amies m’ont dit que cette robe me va àmerveille. (My friends told me this dress looks amazing on me.)

The “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” – petit ami/petite amie

Another way ami(e)can be used to mean “romantic interest” that’s far less ambiguous is the phrase petit(e) ami(e), which means “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”.

You may be wondering why, then, French people don’t just use this all the time when it comes to talking about a romantic partner. The answer is that petit ami/petite amieis used with the connotation that a relationship is recent or maybe that you’re not expecting it will last a long time.

For instance, a parent might use this term for the person their high school-age kid is dating. Or maybe some adult friends have just met another friend’s new boyfriend or girlfriend.

After a while, as the relationship gets more serious, words like ami(e), copain/copine, or compagnon/compagne are used.

In a way, it makes sense; there’s nothing petit(e)about the role a long-term partner plays in your life – or at least, there shouldn’t be!

Examples:

Charles est son petit ami.(Charles is her boyfriend.)

Elle a une nouvelle petite amie.(She has a new girlfriend.)

C’est ma petite amie.(That’s my girlfriend.)

The other common “friend” or sometimes “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” – copain/copine

Copainor copineis another fairly common way to say “friend” in French. It’s slightly less formal than ami(e), but not by much.

Like ami(e), it has to agree with the person it’s referring to:

• copain– a male or unspecified friend
• copine– a female friend
• copains– more than one male friend or a group of male and female friends
• copines– more than one female friend

Another way copain/copineis similar to ami(e) is that it could refer to either a platonic friend or a boyfriend or girlfriend (although not necessarily a lover).

As with ami(e),if you’re lucky, you may also get the benefit of hearing or seeing un orune before the word. In that case, the person is talking about just a friend. But, as with ami(e), if copain/copineis used with a possessive pronoun, it usually (but not always!) means “boyfriend/girlfriend”.

And as with ami(e), context is the best way to know whether or not this word means just a friend or a romantic partner.

Examples:

Elle habite chez une copine.(She lives at her friend’s place.)

Elle habite avec son copain.(She lives with her boyfriend.)

See Also

How to Use 'Mademoiselle' and 'Miss' in French

Tu es un très bon copain.(You’re a good friend.)

C’est un copain àmoi.(He’s a friend of mine.)

The “pal” or “mate” – pote

Potemeans “pal” (US English) or “mate” (UK English) in French.

In most cases, poteis masculine. But as with “pal” in English, it doesn’t necessarily denote a particular gender; it’s just much more commonly associated with males.

However, in more contemporary French, potecan also be used to refer to a female friend and is preceded by a feminine modifier.

Examples:

Salut mon pote !(Hey, my friend!)

On a passéhier soir entre potes.(We spent last night our pals.)

Jean-Luc est mon pote.(Jean-Luc’s my pal.)

Sarah est ma pote.(Sarah’s my pal.)

The “bud” – poteau

Poteauis a diminutive of pote – a rough equivalent of “pal”, “bud”, or “mate”.It’s an informal, slang way to refer to a friend.

Unlike pote, this word is exclusively used with male modifiers, and it usually refers to male friends only. That said, language constantly evolves, so maybe this will also eventually be used with female friends and modifiers. For now, though, use it only with male friends – and in very informal situations.

Examples:

Ça roule poteau ?(How’s it going, pal?)

Ce mec est ton poteau ?(Is this guy your friend?)

On va sortir avec les poteaux ce soir.(We’re going out with our pals/mates tonight.)

The “bro” – frèreor frérot

In French, frèreusually means “brother” and frérotis a familiar, informal way to say “little brother”. But just as “brother” in Anglophone slang can refer to a close male friend, the same goes for these two words. Frèreand frérotare rough equivalents of “bro” or “bruv”.

These words are mostly used by people from the banlieue(French equivalent of inner cities) and in street culture, rather than by frat boys and the like. A wealthy Caucasian French person using frèreor frérotthis way would come off as a bit false or trying to be cool.

That said, in extreme or poetic situations when someone wants to express a feeling of deep solidarity with another person, frère, or, less commonly, sœur(sister) between women, could be used, just like in English.

But in general, unless you’re young and hip and talking to someone else who is young and hip, it’s probably best not to call anyone frèreor frérotin French.

Examples:

Ça va mon frère ?(How’s it going, bro?)

Wesh, frérot ?(‘sup, bro?)

The “friend from school” – un/unecamarade (de classe)

Short for camarade de classe, the word camaradeis often used to refer to a friend from school or a classmate. This word can be masculine or feminine.

Examples:

Voici Sarah, c’est une camarade de classe. (This is Sarah, she’s a friend from school/classmate of mine.)

De temps en temps, il boit un verre avec ses anciens camarades de classe. (Now and then he has a drink with his old classmates.)

Note that camaradeis also the equivalent of “comrade” for French Communists.

The “close friend” – un/une intime

As a noun, intimemeans “a close friend”. It’s slightly formal and a bit less common than most of the other words on our list.

It may surprise you to know that although the word is related to intimacy, this type of friend is exclusively platonic. It’s an intimacy of the soul.

You may also come across this word’s longer version, ami intime/amie intime.

Examples:

C’est un intime de la famille.(He’s a close friend of the family.)

Elle a passéla soirée avec quelques intimes.(She spent the evening with a few close friends.)

How do you say “best friend” in French?

The most common way to say “best friend” in French is:

meilleur amifor a male friend or meilleure amiefor a female friend – literally best (meilleur(e))and friend (ami(e)).

But as you can probably guess after reading this list, there are a few other ways to say “best friend” in French, too.

The most common of these include:

• meilleur copain/meilleure copine– This form is a bit less common than meilleur(e) ami(e), but you’ll still come across it a lot. It’s also a bit less formal than meilleur(e) ami(e), so when talking to an older French person or in a formal situation, it’s best to opt for the ami(e) version.
• meilleur pote– This is a very informal way to say “best friend” in French. Although, as we’ve seen, potecan be used to refer to a female friend, too, using it to say “best friend” is almost always for male friends. It’s extremely rare to see meilleure pote.

Examples:

Hélène est ma meilleure amie.(Helene is my best friend.)

Il gère l’entreprise avec son meilleur ami. (He runs the business with his best friend.)

Mon chat est mon meilleur ami.(My cat is my best friend.)

Hélène est ma meilleure copine.(Helene is my best friend.)

Robert est le meilleur copain de Richard.(Robert is Richard’s best friend.)

Michel est mon meilleur pote.(Michel is my best friend.)

Je pars en Espagne ce weekend avec mes meilleurs potes.(I’m going to Spain this weekend with my best pals/mates.)

Are there other ways to say “friend” in French?

Our list features the most common ways to say “friend” in French. But there are other terms, from old-fashioned ones, to regional ones, to up-and-coming slang ones this middle-aged author might not even be aware of!

You can also do an online search for “comment dire ami en___” followed by a specific Francophone country or region.

You might find some interesting synonyms for amion this list. Of course, make sure to check a word’s definition and try to see it used in context before you use it.

Pay attention as you read, watch, and listen to things in French– you may discover different ways to talk about friends.

And if you’re looking for ways to talk about different kinds of friends, or words about friendship in French, the WordReference entry for amiis a great place to start!

I hope you found this article helpful. Here’s what I think is the perfect quote to finish it with, courtesy of Voltaire: Toutes les grandeurs du monde ne valent pas un bon ami. (A good friend is worth more than all of the titles and riches in the world.)