Thread: друг

Originally Posted by Hyoga

boyfriend = парень, молодой человек; партнер, сожитель

Doesn't молодой человек just mean "young man?" One of my Russian books says that's the phrase one should use to attract the attention of (male) shopkeepers, waiters, etc. I guess I could see it meaning boyfriend in certain contexts, but I wouldn't think it was the default meaning.

Neutral meaning of "молодой человек" is the "young man". Yes, you can use it as the form of address to any male when he is somewhat not too young and not too old. The meaning "boyfriend" is also acceptable when you use it in sentences like, "её молодой человек" (her boyfriend).

молодой человек = young man
её (мой, твой) молодой человек = her (my, your) boyfriend

If a girl says something about her or someone's boyfriend she may call him 'мой молодой человек' / 'чей-то молодой человек', also she may refer to him 'мой парень'.

If a boy says something about his or someone's girlfriend he may call her 'моя девушка' / 'чья-то девушка'. (Some boys refer to their girlfriends as чикса, чувиха, тёлка, etc. but these terms could raise objections from their girlfriends themselves. )


BUT!
If you see a young man walking down the street and you want to ask what time is it, you may stop him with an adress 'Молодой человек, не подскажете, который час?'. In this case 'молодой человек' is not a boyfriend, but just a young man.
In case you see a girl walking down the streen you may address her like this: 'Девушка, вы не знаете как попасть в библиотеку' - it's just a girl in this case, not a girlfriend and it's a normal form of address.


If you have a friend you meet to drink beer in a local pub you call him just 'друг' (a friend) / 'товарищ' (a comrade) / 'приятель' (a fellow) / 'дружбан' (a buddy) / 'кореш' (a mate).

If you're a girl and you have a friend (also a girl) you go shopping with you refer to her as 'подруга' / 'подружка' / 'приятельница' / 'знакомая'

падруг isn't this the femine of "boyfriend"?

Originally Posted by tarcisio

падруг isn't this the femine of "boyfriend"?

Looks like misspelled "подруг" - genitive/accusative plural for "подруга/girlfriend".

Метов Кай - Я тебе не верю Текст песни