Friend in Spanish: Amigo, Amiga and Words for Every Kind of Friend
Friend in Spanish is amigo (ah-MEE-goh) for a male friend and amiga (ah-MEE-gah) for a female friend: Pablo es mi amigo, Lucía es mi amiga. The plural is amigos, or amigas when every friend in the group is female, and a best friend is mi mejor amigo or mi mejor amiga.
Spanish also splits “friend” into words that English keeps together. A classmate or coworker is a compañero, someone you only know a little is a conocido, and in casual speech each country has its own word for a buddy, such as cuate in Mexico or pana in Venezuela. Below you will find all of them, with the gender rules, real sentences, set phrases, a short dialogue and a practice set. For more everyday words, see the Spanish vocabulary hub.
Which word for “friend”? A quick picker
| You want to say | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a friend (male / female) | un amigo / una amiga | Es una amiga del colegio. She’s a friend from school. |
| my friends (all male, or a mixed group) | mis amigos | Salgo con mis amigos el sábado. I’m going out with my friends on Saturday. |
| my friends (all female) | mis amigas | Mis amigas y yo vamos al cine. My friends and I are going to the cinema. |
| best friend | mejor amigo / mejor amiga | Marta es mi mejor amiga. Marta is my best friend. |
| close friend | amigo íntimo / amiga íntima | Es un amigo íntimo de la familia. He’s a close friend of the family. |
| childhood friend | amigo / amiga de la infancia | Somos amigas de la infancia. We’ve been friends since childhood. |
| classmate, coworker, teammate | compañero / compañera | Es mi compañera de trabajo. She’s my coworker. |
| roommate, flatmate | compañero de piso (Spain), compañero de cuarto or de departamento (much of Latin America) | Vivo con dos compañeros de piso. I live with two flatmates. |
| acquaintance | conocido / conocida | No es mi amigo, es un conocido. He’s not my friend, just someone I know. |
| pen pal | amigo por correspondencia | Tengo una amiga por correspondencia en Chile. I have a pen pal in Chile. |
| buddy, mate (informal) | cuate, pana, parce, tío, colega… depends on the country | See the slang table below. |
Pronunciation, gender and plural
Amigo has three syllables, a-MI-go, with the stress on the middle one and no written accent. The g between two vowels is softer than the English g in “go”: the back of the tongue comes close to the roof of the mouth without fully closing, so it sounds a little breathy. Say amiga the same way and just change the last vowel.
The ending follows the friend, not the speaker. A woman talking about a male friend says mi amigo; a man talking about a female friend says mi amiga. Articles and adjectives agree with the friend too: un buen amigo, una buena amiga, unos amigos simpáticos.
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| amigo | one male friend | Andrés es mi amigo. |
| amiga | one female friend | Clara es mi amiga. |
| amigos | two or more male friends, or any group that includes at least one male | Ana y Luis son mis amigos. |
| amigas | two or more friends who are all female | Ana y Sara son mis amigas. |
That mixed-group rule is traditional grammar: nine women and one man are still amigos. Some speakers say amigos y amigas to name both, and forms such as amigues or amig@s appear in some activist writing, but the Real Academia Española does not accept them. As a learner, amigos is the safe choice.
Mejor (best) does not change for gender, only for number: mi mejor amigo, mi mejor amiga, mis mejores amigos. And when you mention one friend among several, Spanish often uses un amigo or un amigo mío (“a friend of mine”): Me lo contó una amiga (“A friend told me”).
Friend, classmate, acquaintance: words for different relationships
Amigo and amiga: a real friend
Use amigo or amiga for someone you like and spend time with by choice. The word can be warm or light depending on context, much like “friend” in English: un amigo de toda la vida is a lifelong friend, while un amigo del gimnasio is someone you chat with at the gym. The friendship itself is la amistad, a feminine noun: Nuestra amistad empezó en el instituto.
Mejor amigo, amigo íntimo and amigo cercano
Mejor amigo / mejor amiga is your best friend. For a very close friend without ranking them, say amigo íntimo or amigo cercano: Solo invitó a sus amigos más cercanos (“She only invited her closest friends”).
Compañero and compañera: someone you share something with
A compañero shares an activity or a place with you: compañero de clase (classmate), de trabajo (coworker), de equipo (teammate), de piso (flatmate), de viaje (travel companion). It says nothing about whether you like each other: Es mi compañero de trabajo, pero no somos amigos. In some contexts compañero or compañera also means a life partner, and in left-wing politics it has long meant “comrade”.
Colega
In standard Spanish a colega is someone in the same profession: doctors, lawyers and teachers call each other colegas. It has one form for both genders, so only the article shows who you mean: el colega, la colega. In Spain, colega is also everyday slang for “mate”: ¿Qué pasa, colega?
Conocido and conocida: an acquaintance
A conocido is someone you know but are not close to. It is neutral, not rude: Es un conocido de mi padre (“He’s an acquaintance of my father’s”).
Amigo or novio?
Novio and novia mean boyfriend and girlfriend (and, depending on context, fiancé, fiancée or the bride and groom at a wedding). To make clear someone is only a friend, say Es solo un amigo or Es una amiga. The informal amigos con derechos means “friends with benefits”.
Slang words for friend by country
Among friends, many Spanish speakers use a local word instead of amigo. These words are informal: use them with friends, not with your boss or in writing.
| Word | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cuate / cuata | Mexico | “buddy”: Es mi cuate. |
| carnal | Mexico | a very close friend, almost a brother (the word means “of the flesh”) |
| compa | Mexico, Central America | short for compañero; friendly, like “pal” |
| mano / manito | Mexico and elsewhere | short for hermano: ¿Qué onda, mano? |
| pana | Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama | Él es mi pana. The same form for men and women |
| parce / parcero | Colombia (especially Medellín) | ¿Qué más, parce? (“What’s up, mate?”) |
| tío / tía | Spain | literally “uncle / aunt”; used like “mate” or “dude” |
| colega | Spain | in everyday speech often “mate”, not only “colleague” |
| bro | widespread among young people | borrowed from English |
Slang changes quickly and some words sound odd or rude outside their home country, so listen to how the people around you speak before you copy a word.
Real sentences with amigo and amiga
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Te presento a mi amiga Clara. | This is my friend Clara. (introducing her) |
| ¿Puedo traer a un amigo a la cena? | Can I bring a friend to dinner? |
| Nos hicimos amigos en la universidad. | We became friends at university. |
| Me hice amiga de mi vecina. | I made friends with my neighbour. (a woman speaking) |
| Es fácil hacer amigos en esta ciudad. | It’s easy to make friends in this city. |
| Somos amigos desde hace diez años. | We’ve been friends for ten years. |
| Un amigo me recomendó este restaurante. | A friend recommended this restaurant to me. |
| Laura es amiga de mi hermana. | Laura is a friend of my sister’s. |
| Me peleé con mi mejor amigo, pero ya hicimos las paces. | I fell out with my best friend, but we’ve made up. |
| Hace años que no veo a mis amigos del colegio. | I haven’t seen my school friends in years. |
| Mi perro es mi mejor amigo. | My dog is my best friend. |
| Gracias, amiga. Te debo una. | Thanks, friend. I owe you one. |
A short dialogue
Lucía: ¡Hola, Diego! ¿Quién era el chico que estaba contigo ayer?
Hi, Diego! Who was the guy you were with yesterday?
Diego: ¿Andrés? Es un compañero de clase. Nos conocemos desde septiembre.
Andrés? He’s a classmate. We’ve known each other since September.
Lucía: ¿Y son amigos?
And are you friends?
Diego: Sí, nos hicimos amigos en el equipo de fútbol. Ahora es uno de mis mejores amigos.
Yes, we became friends on the football team. Now he’s one of my best friends.
Lucía: ¡Qué bien! Preséntamelo el sábado.
Great! Introduce me to him on Saturday.
Diego: Claro. Va a venir a la fiesta con una amiga suya.
Sure. He’s coming to the party with a friend of his.
Notice how Diego moves from compañero (they share a class) to amigo (they chose each other), and how una amiga suya tells us the friend is female without naming her.
Set phrases and sayings about friends
- hacerse amigo / amiga de alguien: to make friends with someone. Se hizo amigo de todos.
- hacer amigos: to make friends (in general).
- hacer las paces: to make up after a fight.
- ser uña y carne: to be inseparable (literally “to be nail and flesh”). Ana y Lucía son uña y carne.
- Quien tiene un amigo, tiene un tesoro: whoever has a friend has a treasure.
- amigo invisible (Spain) / amigo secreto (much of Latin America): Secret Santa.
- un partido amistoso: a friendly match (sport). Amistoso means “friendly” in this sense.
- amigo de lo ajeno: a thief, said ironically (literally “a friend of what belongs to others”).
- amigos con derechos: friends with benefits.
Mistakes English speakers really make
| Not this | Say this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Estamos amigos. | Somos amigos. | Relationships use ser, not estar. |
| Ana y Luis son mis amigas. | Ana y Luis son mis amigos. | A group with a man in it takes the masculine plural. |
| Ella es mi amigo. | Ella es mi amiga. | The ending matches the friend’s gender. |
| mis mejor amigos | mis mejores amigos | Mejor takes -es in the plural (but never -a). |
| Es mi amigo (about a coworker you barely know) | Es un compañero de trabajo. | Amigo claims a friendship; compañero only says you work together. |
One more: for “a friendly person”, Spanish usually says simpático or amable: Tu hermano es muy simpático. Amistoso describes a gesture or a match, and amigable is also heard for people, especially in Latin America.
Practice
Fill in the gap. Answers are in the second column.
| Sentence | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Carmen es mi ____ del colegio. | amiga |
| 2. Tomás y Elena son mis ____. | amigos (mixed group) |
| 3. Mis ____ y yo vamos a la playa. (all women) | amigas |
| 4. No es un amigo; solo es un ____. (acquaintance) | conocido |
| 5. Trabajamos juntos: es mi ____ de trabajo. | compañero (or compañera) |
| 6. Raúl es mi ____ amigo. (best) | mejor |
| 7. Nosotros ____ amigos desde 2015. (ser) | somos |
| 8. Me ____ amiga de Laura en el viaje. (hacerse, I, past) | hice |
| 9. A casual Mexican word for “buddy” | cuate (or compa) |
| 10. “A friend told me.” (female friend) | Me lo contó una amiga. |
Quick answers
How do you say “friend” in Spanish?
Amigo for a male friend, amiga for a female friend. Plural: amigos (male or mixed) and amigas (all female).
How do you say “best friend” in Spanish?
Mejor amigo or mejor amiga: Eres mi mejor amiga. For two or more best friends, use the plural: Somos mejores amigos.
What is the difference between amigo and compañero?
An amigo is a friend you chose. A compañero shares something with you, such as a class, an office or a flat, and may or may not be a friend.
Can I call a stranger “amigo”?
You will hear street vendors and taxi drivers say amigo to customers, but from a visitor it can sound overfamiliar. To get someone’s attention politely, say Disculpe or Perdone; see also hello in Spanish.
What is “friendship” in Spanish?
La amistad. It is feminine: una amistad sincera.
How do you say “add me as a friend” on social media?
Spanish uses agregar or añadir: Agrégame en Instagram (“Add me on Instagram”).
More people words: brother in Spanish, sister in Spanish and I miss you in Spanish.
