Category: Family & RelationshipsPart of speech: nounDifficulty: Common

de vriend

/de vriend/Roman

English meaning: Friend

Definition

A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.

Example

“Hij is mijn beste vriend.”

In English: “He is my best friend.”

Another example: “Hij gaat met een vriend naar de wedstrijd kijken.”

Usage — When, Where & How

Means 'friend', but for a man it commonly also means 'boyfriend' (context decides); 'vriendin' is the female/girlfriend equivalent. Add 'een' (a friend) vs 'mijn' (my boyfriend) to disambiguate.

Etymology & Origin

English — Origin & History

'De vriend' comes from the Old Dutch 'frēond', which can be traced back to Proto-Germanic '*frijōnds', meaning 'one who loves'. It reflects the importance of social ties in the culture.

Common Collocations

  • een goede vriend
  • beste vriend
  • een vriend voor het leven
  • vrienden maken
  • mijn vriend en ik

Word Forms

plural: vrienden; diminutive: vriendje; fem.: vriendin

Word Tools

Literary Heritage

“In het land der blinden is eenoog koning.”

“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”

Desiderius Erasmus · Humanist Scholar & Philosopher · 1466–1536

The Praise of Folly

Adages — Erasmus compiled thousands of proverbs; this one became a cornerstone of world wisdom

“Ondanks alles geloof ik dat de mensen in de grond van hun hart toch goed zijn.”

“Despite everything, I believe that people are still good at heart.”

Anne Frank · Diarist · 1929–1945

The Diary of a Young Girl

Diary entry, 15 July 1944 — written weeks before Anne was discovered and sent to Bergen-Belsen

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Nederlands
Dutch
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Latin
Family
Germanic
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