Tomodachi

Tomodachi is a Japanese noun meaning “friend” or “friends.” It is written with the kanji 友 for “friend” and 達 (tachi) as a pluralizing suffix, with the common written form 友達 and the kana variant ともだち used in everyday writing. In ordinary speech, tomodachi can refer to a single friend or to a group of friends depending on context, and it takes possessive markers (for example, watashi no tomodachi, “my friend(s)”).

In Japanese, tomodachi sits within a spectrum of terms for social bonds. It is a general, everyday word for friendship, suitable for both casual and semi-formal usage. A related term, nakama, conveys a sense of close companions or colleagues with common goals, and can carry a stronger connotation of shared endeavor.

Tomodachi also appears in popular culture as a product name. Nintendo released Tomodachi Collection for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2009, a life-simulation game featuring interactions among characters. A later international spin-off, Tomodachi Life, was released for the Nintendo 3DS starting in 2013–2014, marketed outside Japan with the same theme of social simulation and customizable characters.

As a basic vocabulary item, tomodachi is widely taught to learners of Japanese and remains one of the most common words for describing friendship in everyday life, media, and education.