# 女友
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): nǚyǒu
    (Zhuyin): ㄋㄩˇ ㄧㄡˇ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): neoi$^5$ jau$^5$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): lí-iú
    (Teochew, Peng'im): neng$^2$ iu$^2$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: nǚyǒu [Phonetic: nǘyǒu]
*** Zhuyin: ㄋㄩˇ ㄧㄡˇ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: nyǔyǒu
*** Wade–Giles: nü$^3$-yu$^3$
*** Yale: nyǔ-yǒu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: neuyeou
*** Palladius: нюйю (njujju)
*** Sinological IPA : /ny²¹⁴⁻³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: neoi$^5$ jau$^5$
*** Yale: néuih yáuh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: noey$^5$ jau$^5$
*** Guangdong Romanization: nêu$^5$ yeo$^5$
*** Sinological IPA : /nɵy̯¹³ jɐu̯¹³/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí-iú
*** Tâi-lô: lí-iú
*** Phofsit Daibuun: lyiuo
*** IPA (Xiamen): /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ iu⁵³/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /li⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ iu⁵⁵⁴/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ iu⁵³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ iu⁵³/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /li⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ iu⁴¹/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: neng$^2$ iu$^2$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nṳ́ng iú
*** Sinological IPA : /nɯŋ⁵²⁻³⁵ iu⁵²⁻²¹/

### Noun

女友
* girlfriend
    女友鬧分手／女友闹分手 ― nǚyǒu nào fēnshǒu ― [the/my] girlfriend wants to break up
       Yuēhàn de nǚyǒu fāxiàn le tā de bùzhōng bìng shuǎi le tā, yuánlái tā yě yǒu jīntiān. [Pinyin]
       After discovering John's infidelity his girlfriend dumped him - in the end he really got his just deserts.

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 女朋友, 女友 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 女朋友 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 女朋友, 女友, 馬子 humorous or derogatory |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 女朋友 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xuzhou | 女朋友 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Chengdu | 女娃子, 女娃娃, 女娃兒, 盤子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Guilin | 𧊅 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Nanjing | 女朋友, 攀西 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 女朋友, 女 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 女朋友, 女友, 女, 女女, 菜 derogatory |
| Cantonese | Taishan | 女朋友, 女 |
| Cantonese | Dongguan | 皮油 |
| Cantonese | Singapore (Guangfu) | 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 細妹朋友, 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 細妹朋友, 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 細妹朋友, 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 細妹朋友, 女朋友 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 妹子朋友, 女朋友 |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Shishi | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Taipei | 姼仔 GT |
| Southern Min | Penang (Hokkien) | 查某朋友 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hokkien) | 查某朋友 |
| Southern Min | Manila (Hokkien) | 女朋友, 查某朋友 |
| Southern Min | Chaozhou | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Haifeng | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Teochew) | 查某朋友 |
| Southern Min | Leizhou | 女朋友 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hainanese) | 女朋友 |
| Wu | Shanghai | 女朋友 |
| Wu | Suzhou | 女朋友 |
| Wu | Hangzhou | 女朋友 |
| Wu | Ningbo | 女朋友 |
| Wu | Zhoushan | 女朋友 |
| Xiang | Changsha | 妹子 |
| Note | GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified) | GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified) |

#### See also

* 男友 (nányǒu)

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 女 | 友 |
| じょ Grade: 1 | ゆう Grade: 2 |
| kan'on ||

### Etymology

Might be a borrowing from written Chinese 女友 (nǚyǒu, literally “woman + friend”), using the expected Japanese readings for the characters.
Not found in monolingual dictionaries.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) じょゆう [jòyúú] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [d͡ʑo̞jɯ̟ː]

### Noun

女(じょ)友(ゆう) • (joyū)
* (dated, literary, rare) female friend
    Synonym: 女友達 (onna tomodachi)
** 1912 [1881], Ishikawa Gian, Zangeroku‎, translation of Les Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau, page 467:
    慕(した)はしい女(ぢよ)友(いう)はあつても、別(べつ)に愛(あい)人(じん)がなくてはならぬ。
       Shitawashii joyū wa atte mo, betsu ni aijin ga nakute wa naranu.
       Even if one has a beloved female companion, one must have also a mistress.
** 1938 [1917], Kimura Kinji, Gēte‎, translation of Goethe by Georg Simmel, page 50:
    ダルムシュタットの女(ぢよ)友(いう)は、或(あ)るものは死(し)し、或(あ)る者(もの)は結(けつ)婚(こん)して同(どう)地(ち)を去(さ)つた。
       Darumushutatto no joyū wa, aru mono wa shi shi, aru mono wa kekkon shite dōchi o satta.
       Regarding his Darmstadt ladies, some died, while some married and left the area.
** 2011 July 31, “Kawashima Yoshiko no Chugoku Joyu wa Shō Kaiseki no supai”, in CNA‎:
    一(いっ)世(せい)を風(ふう)靡(び)した女(おんな)スパイの川(かわ)島(しま)芳(よし)子(こ)の女(じょ)友(ゆう)は上(シャン)海(ハイ)のダンシングクイーンの李(り)麗(れい)（リィリィ）で中(ちゅう)国(ごく)人(じん)のリィリィは蒋(ショウ)介(カイ)石(セキ)直(ちょく)属(ぞく)のスパイ機(き)関(かん)の総(そう)元(もと)締(じ)め戴(たい)笠(りゅう)の情(じょう)婦(ふ)であったことを中(ちゅう)国(ごく)時(じ)報(ほう)が今日(きょう)のフィチャーで明(あき)らかにした。
       Issei o fūbi shita onna supai no Kawashima Yoshiko no joyū wa Shanhai no danshingu kuīn no Ri Rei (Rī Rī) de Chūgokujin no Rī Rī wa Shō Kaiseki chokuzoku no supai kikan no sō motojime Tai Ryū no jōfu de atta koto o Chūgoku Jihō ga kyō no fichā de akiraka ni shita.
       In today's feature it is revealed that the female friend of world-dominating female spy Yoshiko Kawashima was Shanghai dancing queen Li Li, and that Li Li, who was Chinese, was a mistress of Chiang Kai-shek's direct subordinate, spy agency head Dai Li, according to China Times.

### References

* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN