友善

• Pinyin: yǒu shàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 友 = two joined hands (friend/mutual support); 善 = 羊 + 言 (sheep/gentle + speech — kindness, goodness)

Meaning

Friendly; amicable; kind. Describing a warm and hospitable attitude toward others.

Used both as an adjective (友善的态度) and as a noun (展现友善). Common in social values discourse, public service announcements, and interpersonal communication contexts. One of China's officially promoted core socialist values: 爱国、敬业、诚信、友善 (patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendliness).

Examples

1. 这所学校把培养学生友善待人、尊重差异看得和成绩同样重要，并贯穿课程与校园文化。 The school treats teaching students to be friendly and respect differences as just as important as grades, and builds it into courses and campus culture.
2. 不同文化里，友善的表达并不相同；北欧偏直接，东亚更讲委婉。 In different cultures, expressions of friendliness are not the same; Northern Europe is more direct, while East Asia values tact more.
3. 这位军官说，面对俘虏也要保持友善，因为人道底线也是人格尊严。 The officer said that even when facing prisoners, one should remain friendly, because a humane bottom line is also a matter of personal dignity.

Usage Guide

Context: social values, interpersonal, education

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 营造友善包容的社区氛围，需要每位居民在日常中真正做到尊重和帮助。(Creating a friendly and inclusive community atmosphere requires every resident to truly show respect and help others in daily life.)
• 他在设计界面时强调，错误提示也要用友善耐心的语气，别让用户觉得被指责。(When designing the interface, he stressed that error messages should also use a friendly and patient tone, so users do not feel blamed.)

Don't Say

• 这道题很友善 — 友善 describes attitudes and behavior between people; use 简单 (simple), 友好 (user-friendly), or 直观 (intuitive) for tasks, interfaces, or inanimate objects

Origin & History

友 (friend — two right hands joined together, symbolizing mutual support) + 善 (good/kind — 羊 sheep/gentle + 言 speech; kind words and goodness)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal