Friendships - Types of friends

A best friend is the friend you spend the most time with and are most attached to. A close friend is a friend you spend a lot of time with and see often.

You can call your friends, mates and buddies. A guy will sometimes call his male friends his ‘bros’, whereas a girl may call her female friends her ‘girlfriends’.

The people you work with are your colleagues but if you have a friendship with them you can also call them your workmates.

The people you live with are your roommates if you live in a house, shared apartment, or shared room. Flatmates are the people you live with in a shared flat.

The people you play sports with are your teammates.

Someone who you are friends with and are in love with can be called your soul mate. This is the person you believe you are destined to be with.

The people you don’t know very well, but you know their name, are called acquaintances. If you know them because of a friend, you can refer to them as ‘a friend of a friend’.

To meet new people you are introduced to them by friends or acquaintances. Sometimes you must introduce yourself. When you are introduced to people, in Britain, you shake their hands (if you are in a formal environment otherwise you can just smile and talk). In France and other places in Europe, you kiss them two or three times on the cheek. In Britain close friends normally hug to say hello and goodbye.

If you are romantically interested in someone, you flirt with them. If you are successful, they become your partner. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives often have pet names for each other (affectionate names) such as dear, darling, sweetheart, baby and my love.