Sections
Tomodachi (友達): what it means in anime
友達
ともだち · tomodachi · friend; companion JLPT N5
Tomodachi means "friend" or "friends". It is the everyday word, and anime draws the line between 友達 and 仲間 (nakama), the companions who fight beside you.
Where you hear it 6 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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NANA · 29 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
何？ 君たち 友達なの？what? Are you guys friends?
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Tokyo Ghoul · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
そう 友達なんだからThat's right! He is my friend, so I have to eat him!
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Reincarnated as a Slime · 7 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
暴風竜ヴェルドラと友達になったand became friends with the Storm Dragon Veldora.
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Toradora! · 5 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
そうだ 友達にFriends.
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Erased · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
お前と 友達になりたいんだ！
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Horimiya · 7 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 3
友達なのかな… これって…
Usage and nuance
友達になろう ("let's be friends") is a classic line of a lonely character, and 友達じゃない ("we're not friends") is its painful opposite. Tensura, Toradora and Erased all have these moments.
The 達 is a plural suffix, but 友達 works for one friend or many. 友 (tomo) alone is literary, and 親友 (shin'yuu) is a best friend.
A Japanese speaker would not call a colleague 友達 lightly; the word implies real friendship, closer than the casual English "friend".
Hear 友達 in NANA29 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account