F•R•I•E•N•D•S in Chinese || Translations for a TV Classic

Friends, one of the most famous comedies worldwide in recent history.

Despite the show completing it’s 10^th and final series way back in 2004 this classic U.S sitcom is still watched internationally to date.

Overall it clocked up 236 episodes during its ten years live. Friends is therefore undoubtedly one of the most important comedy series of modern time.

• 十年 Shí nián (Ten Years)
• 2004年 2004 nián (2004, the year)

Even in China Friends is incredibly popular, watched by many for either the comedy, the love of the characters or even to learn English.

Way back when, Friends helped usher in a love of U.S Sitcoms in China.

Thanks to this many more American shows are being watched by Chinese for the same reasons as above.

The adventures of Monica, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler and Joey continue to delight new generations of comedy fans with its strong characterisation and hilarious plots.

Since the entire run of Friends became available on Netflix in 2015, it’s popularity seems to be on the rise even between teenagers.

So, let’s learn how to talk about the show in Chinese.

F•R•I•E•N•D•S Translation to Chinese

F•R•I•E•N•D•S – the name of the show in Mandarin is 老友记 lǎoyǒujì which literally translates to “Old Friends Chronicle”.

The F•R•I•E•N•D•S Cast in Chinese

And now let’s introduce the main characters 角色 (juésè) of Friends in Mandarin:

Monica: 莫妮卡 Mònīkǎ: Smart (聪明 – Cōngmíng) and cynical, Monica is a competitive and compulsive perfectionist chef. Attractive and smart she tends to have trouble finding love.

Ross: 罗斯 Luósī: Monica’s brother, is a goofy but romantic (浪漫 – Làngmàn) palaeontologist who faces single-hood with reluctance. He often lies to avoid arguments or situations with conflict.

Rachael: 瑞秋 Ruìqiū: Rachael is a spoiled fashionista, on her own for the first time. She has been Monica’s best friend (最好的朋友 – zuì hǎo de péngyǒu) since high school.

Phoebe: 菲比 Fēibǐ: Phoebe is a quirky lovable hippie who sells barrettes on the street. Despite her rough past she is always perky and sweet. Phoebe is also a (horrible) self-taught musician who usually performs at Central Perk (中央咖啡馆 Zhōngyāng kāfēiguǎn).

Chandler: 钱德勒 Qiándélēi: Chandler is the most financially secure character of the show. He has a sarcastic sense of humour and bad luck in relationships. He loves to joke (玩笑 – Wánxiào) around and poke fun of his friends.

Joey: 乔伊 Qiáoyī: Joey is an extroverted, handsome (帅 – Shuài) actor who loves human interaction on and off stage. He loves women, sports and food. Despite his characterization as stupid, deep down he is very caring and sensitive.

Famous F•R•I•E•N•D•S phrases

And now let’s learn how to say some of the most memorable quotes from the show:

“Hey, how you doin’?”  嘿！你好吗！- Hēi! Nǐ hǎo ma! – Joey’s famous chat up line.

“We were on a break” 我们当时已经分手了！Wǒmen dāngshí yǐjīng fēnshǒule! – Ross’s famous line from the show.

And of course there is the first verse of Phoebe’s famous song Smelly Cat:

“Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? Smelly cat, smelly cat, it’s not your faa-aa-ult.”

“臭臭猫，臭臭猫,他们都喂你吃什么？臭臭猫，臭臭猫,这不是你的错.”

“Chòu chòu māo, chòu chòu māo, tāmen dōu wèi nǐ chī shénme? Chòu chòu māo, chòu chòu māo, zhè bùshì nǐ de cuò.”

You’ll see in the Chinese version smelly is repeated twice, this is so that it fits to the tune of the song as smelly has two syllables.

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More to Come…

Now that you know the name of the main characters, and the most popular quotes from Friends in Chinese, go and start a conversation about the show with your Chinese friends!

We love to chat TV at LTL and we’ll be covering more TV shows in Chinese in the future.

We also covered the hugely popular Game of Thrones in Chinese.

We hope you enjoy reading our blog. Also, if you enjoyed this post, just take a look at our 10 Classic and Inspiring Movie Quotes in Chinese blog post.

Friends in Chinese – FAQs