What is friend in Chinese?

SEARU

First，let me make a joke about the English word ‘friend’ in this way: ‘Fri-end’ sounds like ‘free-end’ which shows that two strangers would feel ‘free’ in the ‘end’ when they become ‘friend’ to each other!

In Chinese, we say ‘朋友’ as ‘friend’.  How to understand it in a reasonable way?

朋 consists two same parts and each one represents ‘the moon’ but here which should symbols ‘body’. ------------Many Chinese characters related to your some organ has ‘月’ as ond of its components, such as 脸（face）, 胳膊（arm）,腿(leg) , 脚（foot）, 脑(brain）,胸（chest）, 胃（stomach）,etc.  So one single ‘月’ should mean ‘a man’.  Then 朋 should represents ‘two persons who are walking or sitting or working shoulder to shoulder’ as you imagine.

The appearance of 友 is quite special：Its bottom part 又 ought to symbols ‘one body’ and the lower part of 又 looks like the legs! --------That is why 双 means ‘couple’;  The upper part of 友 is same to the common part of 左右 that looks like your shoulder and one of your arms.  So 友 seems show that one person is sitting in other one‘s arms. -----------How close the relationship is?

Now you stare at 朋友 for minutes, what could you see through the Chinese painting about the warm human relationship?

SEARU

The Chinese idiom ‘左膀右臂’（your left shoulder and right arm）refers to your closed friend who often help you in life or work.  The 又 of 友 is someone and the remaining part looks like ‘arm and shoulder’’!----------- So 友 is somebody who could offer you one ‘hand’ when you are in trouble. ------------There is a dance named ‘Buddhist with one thousand hands’ in which the fairy-like monk could help countless people with her so many extra hands!