泛泛之交

fànfànzhījiāo

idiom

Meanings

1 nodding acquaintance
2 casual friend; superficial relationship

Characters

shallow; superficial

(possessive particle)

Examples

HSK 4

微信好友里大多数是泛泛之交。

Wēixìn hǎoyǒu lǐ dàduōshù shì fànfànzhījiāo.

Most of my WeChat contacts are just casual acquaintances.

HSK 7-9

我们只是泛泛之交，谈不上深交。

Wǒmen zhǐshì fànfànzhījiāo, tánbushàng shēnjiāo.

We're only nodding acquaintances, hardly close friends.

Tips

history

Recorded in Zhu Xi's 《朱子语类》 (Classified Conversations of Master Zhu, Song dynasty): 'as for casual acquaintances (泛然之交), there's no need to attend to each one'. Compare with 莫逆之交 (closest friends) and 患难之交 (friends through hardship).

Stroke Order

泛 fàn

之 zhī

交 jiāo