Just in case you were wondering, below is a short intermediate essay on How to Make Friends.
人人都需要朋友。朋友可以给我们以帮助，与我们共事困难和快乐。但是，怎样交朋友呢?
交朋友首先要对别人友善。你对别人微笑；肯定别人也会报以微笑。要使陌生人感到亲切，关心别人要比,关心自己为重，决不以貌取人。
其次，朋友之间应该商量而不是争吵。当与别人有分歧时，要和他一起讨论。
最后，不要相信那些在危急关头背离你的人，也不要在朋友危难时离开他。记住: 患难之中见真情。
朋友应该以诚相待。只要你把朋友的利益置于你的利益之上，你就会拥有好多好朋友
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人人 | rén rén | everyone; every person |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 共事 | gòng shì | to work together |
| 困难 | kùn nan | difficult; challenging; straitened circumstances; difficult situation |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 首先 | shǒu xiān | first of all; in the first place |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others; other person |
| 友善 | yǒu shàn | friendly |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 微笑 | wēi xiào | smile; CL:個|个[ge4],絲|丝[si1]; to smile |
| 肯定 | kěn dìng | to be certain; to be positive; assuredly; definitely; to give recognition; to affirm; affirmative (answer) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 陌 | mǒ | raised path |
| 生人 | shēng rén | stranger; living person; to give birth; to be born (in a certain time or place) |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 亲切 | qīn qiè | amiable; cordial; close and dear; familiar |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 为重 | wéi zhòng | to attach most importance to |
| 决不 | jué bù | not at all; simply (can) not |
| 貌 | mào | (bound form) appearance; looks; outward form |
| 取 | qǔ | to take; to get; to choose; to fetch |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 其次 | qí cì | next; secondly |
| 之间 | zhī jiān | (after a noun) between; among; amid; (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressions indicating a short period of time, e.g. 彈指之間|弹指之间[tan2 zhi3 zhi1 jian1]) |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 争吵 | zhēng chǎo | to quarrel; dispute |
| 当 | dāng | (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 分歧 | fēn qí | divergent; difference (of opinion, position); disagreement; (math.) bifurcation |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 讨 | tǎo | to invite; to provoke; to demand or ask for; to send armed forces to suppress; to denounce or condemn; to marry (a woman); to discuss or study |
| 论 | Lún | abbr. for 論語|论语[Lun2 yu3], The Analects (of Confucius) |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 那些 | nà xiē | those |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 危急 | wēi jí | critical; desperate (situation) |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 背 | běi | the back; behind (bei4); to recite from memory (bei4); to carry on the back (bei1) |
| 离 | chī | mythical beast (archaic); surname Li |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 危难 | wēi nàn | calamity |
| 离开 | lí kāi | to depart; to leave |
| 记 | jì | to record; to note; to memorize; to remember; mark; sign; classifier for blows, kicks, shots |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 患 | huǎn | to suffer (from illness); misfortune; danger |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
| 之中 | zhī zhōng | inside; among; in the midst of (doing sth); during |
| 见 | jiàn | to see; to meet; to appear (to be sth); to interview; opinion; view |
| 真情 | zhēn qíng | real situation; the truth; true emotions; true feelings |
| 诚 | chēng | (bound form) sincere; authentic |
| 待 | dǎi | to stay; to remain |
| 只要 | zhǐ yào | so long as; provided; if |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 利益 | lì yì | benefit; (in sb's) interest; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 置于 | zhì yú | to place in; to put in (a position) |
| 之上 | zhī shàng | above |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 拥有 | yōng yǒu | to have; to possess; to own |
| 好多 | hǎo duō | many; quite a lot; much better |
| 好朋友 | hǎo péng you | good friend; (slang) a visit from Aunt Flo (menstrual period) |
Everyone needs friends. A friend can give us help and share our difficulties and happiness. But how can we make friends?
First, to make friends, you must be friendly to others. Smile at others and you are sure to get a smile in return. You should try to make a stranger feel at home wherever he happens to be. Think more of others than of yourself and never judge a person by their appearance and clothes.
Second, friends should negotiate instead of quarrel. When you don’t agree with someone, discuss the issue with them.
Finally, never trust in those who leave you when you are in trouble. And never leave your friends when they are in trouble. Remember, a friend in need is a friend indeed. [Literally: During difficult situations, you will see the truth]
Friends should be faithful to each other. So long as you can put your friend’s interests in front of yours, you will have a lot of good friends.