カミラさん、

こんにちは。:smile:

Very good question!

If we say only 友達がテニスをしている。, this means 友達 is "my friend".

We can omit the obvious information in Japanese, right? So, the fact we say "friend"

without specifying "whose" friend, it usually means "my friend(s)".

However, in this case, the people who are playing tennis are friend to each other

and it has nothing to do with your relation to those people.

In order to say those players are friends (to each other), we use the word 同士

which means the people involved are in the same position, same job or have same title.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and おかげさまで、学べます。 sounds better. What exactly did you want to say by this line?

Natsuko (奈津子),

Team JapanesePod101.com

こんにちは皆(mina)さん、

すみません、わかりません。

友達同士がテニスをしている。

友達= friend

同士= companion

I would like to know why both are necessary. Why isn't this redundant?

ありがとうございます。おーかげさまで,学(mana)びます。

(　だいじょぶですか。）

グイドさん、

こんにちは。

There are mainly three words to mean "friend(s)": 友達、友、友人

I'd say 友達 is the most commonly used in daily conversations and written languages.

友 is not necessarily informal. It'd rather sound formal or more "written" or "old Japanese like".

This word 友 is usually used in special ways, like just to call someone "my friend" 友よ (with

the particle よ) or "friend of/from something" (～の友).

There's no connotation of singular or plural.

When you introduce someone as your friend, you'd say 友達です not 友です

In formal occasions, it can be also 友人です:smile:

Natsuko (奈津子),

Team JapanesePod101.com

こんばんは。

After looking at the videos and comparing to the words I've seen in an anime, I was wondering:

At first, I thought that "友達"* (tomodachi) meant "friend".

Then I noticed in the anime was often used "友" (tomo)...given the subtitle and the context, I got that it probably had the same meaning, which was confirmed on the dictionary...however...since most dialogues use the informal form (never heard the polite "masu" form), I thought, at first, it could be a "formal vs. informal" difference...

...so "友達" = friend (formal) and "友" = friend (informal).

However...on the videos I've noticed the addition of "dachi" to other names and at first I couldn't find the meaning

of "dachi"...so, since I've noticed that things that I couldn't find on dictionary seem to be either a verb declination or an on yomi of a Kanji, I've looked for the "tomodachi" Kanji, I've split it...and then I've found that "達" means "plural" and "dachi" is its on yomi...

...so I was wondering:

Does really "友達" mean "friend" or, instead, it means "friends"?

And, if it's the latter, it is proper to use "友" for one friend in both formal and informal speech?

...and could be freely used or works very specific names (like "友")?

For example, could I use "人" and "達" to say "persons"? :-?

どうもありがとうございます。

Guido

* = I wrote it in Kanji because I understand it's usually written in Kanji...I hope I didn't make mistakes with the keyboard, but those two characters seem the right ones... :-|

Sean-san,

you're welcome! Glad I could help :smile:

I know; dictionaries often give you just a list of possibilities.

Natsuko(奈津子),

Team JapanesePod101.com

Thanks Natsuko,

The dictionary I have gives the meaning: fellow, mutual, comrade, companion, bonding - which is not so useful to understand it's common usage.

Thanks again.

Sean-san,

very good question!

The word 同士 can be added to nouns of relation, position, etc. when two or more people

share the same status. So, when you say 友達, it can mean someone is a friend of someone, and/or

some people are frineds, while 友達同士 emphasise that two or more people are friends "to each other".:wink:

This 同士 can be used also in a sentence like;

日本語を勉強している者同士、助け合いましょう。

= Let's help each other amongst learners who study Japanese.

You might find it interesting what kanjis for 同士 literally mean:wink:

Natsuko(奈津子),

Team JapanesePod101.com

Can you explain the difference/use between 友達 (tomodachi) and 友達同士 (tomodachi doushi)? I asked my Japanese wife and kids (who go to Japanese school), but they could only vaguely explain that 友達同士 is a colloquialism meaning friends, but could not explain how to use it compared to 友達.

Thanks