buddy
2018.01.17
Meaning:
Simply, buddy means ‘friend’. ‘John is my buddy’ means ‘John is my friend’. But there are some differences. Firstly, buddy sounds casual. Secondly, we often use buddy to address someone directly - eg ‘Hey buddy, how are you?’ It sounds unnatural to say ‘Hey friend, how are you?’. Thirdly, buddy has a masculine nuance; it is not common to call a woman ‘buddy’ (but of course you can do it if you want to!). Fourthly, we also use buddy for a person we do an activity with – for example, Sue is my study buddy, Sam is my jogging buddy. In the fourth situation a buddy needn’t be a close friend – just a person you do an activity with.
Example:
A: (older man) Hey buddy, what’s up?
B: (younger man) Oh, nothing much. I’m just annoyed because John and I were going to go out tonight, and he just messaged me to cancel now.
A: Ah, sorry. Is John a close friend of yours?
B: Not really. We’re just drinking buddies.
Talking Point(s):
Do you have an English study buddy?
大人からの英会話getgo 西船橋・荻窪・津田沼・本八幡