They say friends are the family you choose, the wine to life, the yin to yang, but what does friendship mean to you?
It may embody all the things mentioned above, or it might make you think of the ones closest to your heart. Whatever the case may be, it’s always nice to be reminded of the VIPs in your own life. By the same token, it’s nice to remind your besties just how important they are to you too.
Famous authors, poets, and everyone in between have been trying to put friendship into words for ages. Whether you’re celebrating something special or just want to remind your BFF of how great they are, our collection of friendship quotes will help you get started.
Quotes about friendship
We could all use a reminder of how important friendship is. Whether you’re trying to cheer someone up or add a sweet sentiment to a gift or card, the quotes below will help you craft your message.
- “Sometimes, being with your best friend is all the therapy you need.” – Unknown
- “Keep the ones that heard you when you never said a word.” – Unknown
- “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
- “A true friend accepts who you are, but also helps you become who you should be.” – Unknown
- “A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” – Donna Roberts
- “Sometimes you meet a person, and you just click — you’re comfortable with them, like you’ve known them your whole life, and you don’t have to pretend to be anyone or anything.” – Unknown
- “Because of you, I laugh a little harder, cry a little less, and smile a lot more.” – Unknown
- “That’s when I realized what a true friend was. Someone who would always love you—the imperfect you, the confused you, the wrong you — because that is what people are supposed to do.” – Unknown
- “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.” – C.S. Lewis
- “True friends are like diamonds — bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.” – Nicole Richie
- “A good friend knows all your stories. A best friend helped you create them.” – Unknown
- “A friend is someone who makes it easy to believe in yourself.” – Heidi Wills
- “There’s nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate." – Unknown
- “Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.” – Jean de La Fontaine
- “Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them.” – Anna Taylor
- “A friend is one soul abiding in two bodies.” – Aristotle
- “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali
- “Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.” – Tennessee Williams
- “A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.” – Unknown
- “A friend is one of the best things you can be and the greatest things you can have.” – Sarah Valdez
- “Best friends are the people in your life who make you laugh louder, smile brighter and live better.” – Unknown
- “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” – Woodrow T. Wilson
- “Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.” – Ed Cunningham
- “True friends aren’t the ones who make your problems disappear. They are the ones who won’t disappear when you’re facing problems.” – Unknown
- “Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.” – John Evelyn
- “When the world is so complicated, the simple gift of friendship is within all of our hands.” – Maria Shriver
- “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – William Shakespeare
- “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
- “The love that comes from friendship is the underlying facet of a happy life.” – Chelsea Handler
- “Friends…they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.” – Joseph Addison
- “Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.” – Francesco Guicciardini
- “There are three things that grow more precious with age: old wood to burn, old books to read and old friends to enjoy.” – Henry Ford
- “Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said, “I’m here for you”, and proved it.” – Anonymous
- “Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.” – George Eliot
- “Good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them… your smile, your hope, and your courage.” – Doe Zantamata
- “A best friend is someone who makes you laugh even when you think you’ll never smile again.” – Unknown
Cute friendship quotes
Sometimes just a few sweet words are all someone needs to put a smile on their face. These cute friendship quotes are sure to help you do just that.
- “When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.” – Unknown
- “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “In the cookie of life friends are the chocolate chips.” – Unknown
- “Good friends are like stars, you don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.” – Unknown
- “We’ve been friends for so long I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence.” – Unknown
- “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
- “A true friend is someone who sees the pain in your eyes while everyone else believes the smile on your face.” – Unknown
- “Best friends are the people you can do anything and nothing with and still have the best time.” – Unknown
- “How beautiful it is to find someone who asks for nothing but your company.” – Brigitte Nicole
- “I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen” – Winnie the Pooh
- “I get by with a little help from my friends.” – The Beatles
- “Friendship is the wine of life.” – Edward Young
- “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” – C.S. Lewis
- “If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we are apart, I’ll always be with you.” – A.A. Milne
- “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity." – Khalil Gibson
- “If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus one day, so I never have to live without you.” – Winnie the Pooh
- “It’s not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters.” – Unknown
- “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss
- “A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.” – Unknown
- “A good friend is like a four-leaf clover; hard to find and lucky to have.” – Irish Proverb
- “Friends are people who know you really well and like you anyway.” – Greg Tamblyn
- “A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” – Bernard Meltzer
- “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Best friend: the one that you can be mad at only for a short period of time because you have important stuff to tell them.” – Unknown
- “Friends are the sailors who guide your rickety boat safely across the dangerous waters of life.” – Sare and Cate
- “There is not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met.” – Jim Henson
- “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Short friendship quotes
If you’re looking for something short and sweet to share with your bestie, look no further! These short friendship quotes will help you show your BFF how special you think they are!
- “Friendship is another word for love.” – Unknown
- “Squad goals!” – Unknown
- “It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.” – Marlene Dietrich
- “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “A friend is what the heart needs all the time.” – Henry van Dyke
- “The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.” – Hubert H. Humphrey
- “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” – Jim Morrison
- “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.” – G. Randolf
- “Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.” – Bill Watterson
- “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” – Elbert Hubbard
- “Friends are medicine for a wounded heart, and vitamins for a hopeful soul.” – Steve Maraboli
- “Life is nothing without friendship.” – Cicero
- “A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” – Arnold H. Glasgow
- “We were together. I forget the rest.” – Walt Whitman
- “I will not let you go into the unknown alone.” – Bram Stoker
- “A true friend is a forever friend.” – George MacDonald
- “True friends are great riches.” – Unknown
- “A faithful friend loves to the end.” – Unknown
- “No friendship is an accident.” – O. Henry
- “True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.” – Helen Keller
- “Friends are the family you choose.“ – Jess C. Scott
- “Life was meant for good friends and great adventures.” – Unknown
- “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” – Henry Ford
- “Time doesn't take away from friendship, nor does separation.” – Tennessee Williams
- “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” – Thomas Aquinas
- “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell
- “There’s nothing like a really loyal, dependable, good friend. Nothing.” – Jennifer Aniston
- “Friends…they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Best friend isn’t a person; it’s a tier.” – Mindy Kaling
- “Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.” – Misty Copeland
- “The best mirror is an old friend.” – George Herbert
- “True friends are always together in spirit.” – L.M. Montgomery
- “True friendship resists time, distance and silence.” – Isabel Allende
- “Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.” – Euripides
- “Friendship is a wildly underrated medication.” – Anna Deavere Smith
- “Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
- “One’s friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.” – George Santayana
- “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “A friend can tell you things you don’t want to tell yourself.” – Frances Ward Weller
- “Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.” – Sarah Dessen
- “There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.” – Unknown
- "In my friend, I find a second self." – Isabel Norton
- “Friends are relatives you make for yourself.” – Eustache Deschamps
- “Women’s friendships are like a renewable source of power.” – Jane Fonda
- “True friends are families which you can select.” – Audrey Hepburn
- “A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face.” – Maya Angelou
- “A true friend is the greatest of all blessings.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld
- “Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.” – George Eliot
- “A good friend remembers what we were and sees what we can be.” — Unknown
- “Friends are the sunshine of life.” – John Hay
- “Friendship is the foundation of all relationships.” – Unknown
- “Friends are like rainbows; they brighten your life when you’ve been through a storm.” – Unknown
- “I think that generosity is the essence of friendship.” – Oscar Wilde
- “Distance cannot matter – ours is a friendship of the heart.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
- "You've Got a Friend in Me" – Randy Newman
Beautiful quotes on friendship
These quotes on friendship will remind you of what it means to have true friends, to have people love you for you and have your back no matter what. Be sure they don’t forget it!
- “The great thing about new friends is that they bring new energy to your soul.” – Shanna Rodriguez
- “Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over.” – Octavia Butler
- “True friendship is when two friends can walk in opposite directions yet remain side by side.” – Josh Grayson
- “Close friends are truly life’s treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone.” – Vincent van Gogh
- “Nobody can avoid falling in love. They might want to deny it, but friendship is probably the most common form of love.” – Stieg Larsson
- “Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” – Amy Poehler
- “Friendship isn’t a big thing—it’s a million little things.” – Paulo Coelho
- “You can always tell when two people are best friends because they’re always having way more fun than it makes sense for them to be having.” – Unknown
- “Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” – Elisabeth Foley
- “A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.” – Leo Buscaglia
- “Real friendship, like real poetry, is extremely rare — and precious as a pearl.” – Tahar Ben Jelloun
- “There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
- “In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Kahlil Gibran
- “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” – Albert Camus
- “Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life—and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.” – Dean Koontz
- “Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.” – Richard Bach
- “True friends are those rare people who come to find you in dark places and lead you back to the light.” – Anonymous
- “If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart… I'll always be with you.” – Winnie the Pooh
- “Throughout life you will meet one person who is like no other. You could talk to this person for hours and never get bored, you could tell this person things and they will never judge you. This person is your soulmate, your best friend. Don’t ever let them go.” – Unknown
- "I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff." – Jon Katz
- “The real test of friendship is can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?” – Eugene Kennedy
- "Best friends don’t necessarily have to talk every day. They don’t even need to talk for weeks. But when they do, it’s like they never stopped talking." – Unknown
- "True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable." – David Tyson
- “A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than many friends who only know your smile.” – Unknown
- “Friendship is the purest love. It is the highest form of love where nothing is asked for, no condition, where one simply enjoys giving.” – Osho
- “Friends are the sailors who guide your rickety boat safely across the dangerous waters of life.” – Sare and Cate
- “A true friend is one who will be there when you need him, no matter what.” – Unknown
- “Friendship is the rainbow between two hearts sharing seven colors: feelings, love, sadness, happiness, truth, faith, secret, and respect.” – Unknown
- “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis
- "Lean on me, when you're not strong. And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on. “ – Bill Withers
Our favorite friendship gifts
