90 Short and Beautiful Quotes About Friendship

With these 90 short and beautiful quotes about friendship, you'll be able to recognize the affection and the support of your loved ones

Written and verified by the psychologist Valeria Sabater.

Last update: 05 September, 2023

We all have those special people who give our lives greater meaning, momentum, and transcendence. They’re shining figures that spread happiness and turn off sadness, that never judge us, and with whom conversations last until dawn. The following short and beautiful quotes about friendship will be a perfect gift to give them to show you appreciate everything they do for you.

A friend is medicine for that social and emotional brain that we all have. It’s true that sometimes some fail us or disappear from the journey of our lives because interests change. However, far from seeing it as something traumatic, it’s good to understand that, in the end, more special people always arrive who make us grow and are a breath of pure happiness.

Healers of sorrows, allies of the heart, rescuers of problems, confidants of dreams, nourishers of the mind, and caressers of souls… True friends are always few, it’s true, but we don’t need more than that. With them, growing up, maturing, and advancing through the days, years, and decades is a pleasure.

And although sometimes they’re far away, we can still feel close. These quotes about friendship are for them…

Short and beautiful quotes about friendship

It’s often said that the best friendships begin in the childhood years. Few things were as decisive in those days as having people who, passing through the same vital and social stages as us, accompanied us in every discovery, fear, mischief, and need. As we grow and mature, the need to have these emotional alliances is just as essential.

Sometimes, friendship gives us aspects that family doesn’t offer us. Even more, a friend is a support and a motivator that sometimes gives us a complicity that goes beyond a relationship. Having them close brings us well-being and happiness. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at some short and beautiful quotes about friendship that you can dedicate to those special people in your life.

1. “Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself.” (CS Lewis)

It has happened to all of us at some point. At some point, fate brings us someone who sees, feels, and understands the world just like we do. It’s that person we meet in class, at work, or casually with whom we share the same passion or who has the same quirks.

2. “Friends are the family you choose.” (Jess C Scott)

We say it many times. Our friendships are those emotionally significant figures that we freely choose. They’re not blood family; they’re soul family. Few things are more empowering than those fabulous choices.

3. “True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable.” (David Tyson)

Let’s admit it: Few situations are as uncomfortable as silence in the middle of a conversation or shared situation with someone. However, those moments don’t bother us when the friendship is authentic. On the contrary, we allow ourselves to remain silent without having to say the first thing that comes to mind.

4. “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” (Henry Ford)

The famous American businessman gave us a very accurate reflection on friendship. As long as a person is able to bring out your virtues, gifts, and benefits and not awaken your darkness, they’re someone special. Someone who deserves to be part of your life.

5. “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” (Seneca)

If there’s something most of us aspire to, it’s to be understood in every regard, in every singularity, depth, and detail. Knowing that there’s someone who knows how to decipher us in seconds offers us great well-being.

6. “Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.” (Euripides)

Few things are more enlightening than seeing how our friends respond in difficult times. Being in moments of calm and happiness is easy. Counting on them in moments when things go wrong is more difficult.

7. “Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship.” (Dorothy Parker)

Among the short and beautiful quotes about friendship that we want to share today, this is one of the most special. The exceptional writer Dorothy Parker reminds us that friendship is that muscle and that dimension of extraordinary strength that doesn’t wear out with use.

8. “Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation.” (Oscar Wilde)

Talk until dawn, share endless gatherings over a coffee for hours and hours… Is there anything more pleasant? Not at all. This phrase from Oscar Wilde reminds us how important it is for well-being to be able to talk to our best friends.

9. “A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” (Arnold H.Glasgow)

A friend doesn’t put obstacles in your way and doesn’t interfere with your decisions or alter what’s meaningful to you. Authentic friendship is like a feather that caresses you on a daily basis and also that powerful hand that reaches out to you when you’re in danger.

10. “Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” (Socrates)

Socrates reminds us of something that not everyone takes into account. A friendship is something that needs constant tending. It’s not something you develop overnight. Every relationship must continue to work constantly.

11. “Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.” (Charles Lamb)

No matter what idea comes to into your head, your friends will accept them all with respect and affection.

12. “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” (Woodrow T. Wilson)

On days of calm, tides, and wind, friendship grabs, anchors, holds, and embraces us. Good friends are the glue that binds us to life.

13. “Friends are those rare people who ask how we are, and then wait to hear the answer.” (Ed Cunningham)

If you have friends who don’t pay attention to you and with who only seem to care about what they say or think, run away. Authentic friends listen to you and are interested in you.

14. “It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m.” (Marlene Dietrich)

Among the short and beautiful quotes about friendship you can give to your friends, this one from the great actress Marlene Dietrich is among the most special. For friends, there are no schedules. They’re there for you when you need them.

15. “Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.” (Tennessee Williams)

The moments shared with our friends are unrepeatable chapters that outline the best of our lives with permanent ink.

16. “Am I not destroying an enemy when I make a friend of him?” (Abraham Lincoln)

This strategy of President Lincoln is as original as it is useful: If you can turn an enemy into an ally, you can count on an indestructible friendship.

17. “The best time to make friends is before you need them.” (Ethel Barrymore)

There are people who only understand instrumental friendship, that is, one with which to achieve an end. Run away from someone who only looks for you to get something.

18. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” (Elbert Hubbard)

The true friend accepts your lights and your shadows, your virtues and limitations. Acceptance is the basis of friendship.

19. “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” (Helen Keller)

Helen Keller, deaf and blind writer, activist, and speaker offers us another one of our favorite short and beautiful quotes about friendship. Nothing is as special as being able to count on a friend in difficult times.

20. “Friends are relatives you make for yourself.” (Eustache Deschamps)

When you create and cultivate a good friendship, you’ve just gained a family member for life.

21. “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” (Khalil Gibran)

A friendship isn’t a resource from which to gain profit. Neither is it a figure that’s forced in order to give you benefits or opportunities. A friend is a hand on the road to enjoy and care for.

22. “A friend to all is a friend to none.” (Aristotle)

We often say to be wary of those who create alliances with everyone, those who get along with anyone, and those figures who, rather than applying filters, have friends on every side.

23. “A snowball to the face is surely the perfect start to a lasting friendship.” (Mark Zusak)

The best friendships arise in the most surreal, curious, and unexpected moments. Has it ever happened to you?

24. “Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.” (Sicilian proverb)

Trust those friends who don’t hesitate to tell you the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable. They’ll always look for the best for you.

25. “Friends should be like books, few, but hand-selected.” (C. J. Langenhoven)

The best friends fit on the fingers of one hand and are also authentic lights in the midst of the darkness that you choose intelligently.

26. “Friendship is a wildly underrated medication.” (Anna Deavere-Smith)

Science supports it: Friendship at any age relieves stress, offers us calm and well-being, and is capable of reducing the incidence of multiple diseases.

27. “Where there are friends there is wealth.” (Titus Maccius Plautus)

There’s no better treasure than that friend who’s much more than your other half, an imperishable alliance that life has given you and that makes you truly rich.

28. “Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Benjamin Franklin gives us some very appropriate advice for these fluid times, as Zygmunt Bauman would say. Friendship must be cared for on a day-to-day basis. It’s not something that one can renew and recycle like someone who changes their cell phone each time a new model comes out.

29. “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” (Thomas Aquinas)

The friar, theologian, and philosopher Thomas Aquinas gives us unparalleled advice: Nothing’s as valuable in this world as good friends.

30. “Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.” (Bill Watterson)

We know that there are many things that worry us and that life is full of fears and fears. Now, with a friend nearby, we have the best possible balm to deal with anything.

31. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

There are many who demand what a friendship should be like. However, they forget to apply to themselves what they demand of others.

32. “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” (Aristotle)

Among the short and beautiful quotes we find about friendships, this is undoubtedly one of the most endearing. Friendship is freely opening your heart to someone special and letting them dwell there forever.

33. “Don’t spend time with someone who isn’t ready to spend it with you.” (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Who hasn’t gone through this type of experience? Sometimes, we notice how certain friends stop being around, how they begin to make excuses and only look out for their own interests. When we perceive this, there is only one option left: look for better friends.

34. “A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself.” (Jim Morrison)

Few things are more enriching than having close people with whom to be ourselves. Take good care of that friend who gives you freedom and allows you to be better.

35. “Friendship freely given and gratefully received is one of life’s greatest gifts.” (Napoleon Hill)

Friendship should never be forced, nor should it be taken for granted.

36. “Can miles truly separate you from friends.” (Richard Bach)

Authentic friendships are maintained despite distances and time. Most of us have friends that we haven’t seen in person for months, yet we still carry them in our hearts.

37. “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” (Winnie the Pooh)

Winnie the Pooh is that classic figure from the world of children that can teach us the most about the magic of friendship. His creator, Alan Alexander Milne, left us this phrase that’s as funny as it is unforgettable: Spending a day without our friends causes us to miss out on the sweet side of life.

38. “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)

Osho, the Indian spiritual leader, also offers us one of the short and beautiful phrases of friendship to dedicate more special. Friendship is a form of love that we should all have.

39. “Friendship is like a glass ornament, once it is broken it can rarely be put back together exactly the same way.” (Charles Kingley)

Let’s remember that friendship is like that beautiful and delicate figure that deserves to be tended to and cared for on a daily basis. Take care not to break it.

40. “A Brother may not be a Friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother.” (Benjamin Franklin)

There are friendships that are almost like blood alliances, people who suddenly become like brothers.

41. “Joy shared with a friend is double joy; shared sorrow is half the sorrow.” (Swedish proverb.” (Swedish proverb)

Triumphs, losses, disappointments, happiness… On the emotional path throughout life’s journey, good friends are our best companions.

42. “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.” (Euripides)

Not everyone has quality family relationships. Therefore, the alliance of friendship is healing in these circumstances.

43. “Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.” (Epicurus)

Wisdom is also knowing how to find, care for, and value a good friend. Once we achieve it, we’ll discover that this and no other is the secret of happiness, according to Epicurus.

More short and beautiful quotes about friendship

44. “There are no rules for friendship. It must be left to itself. We cannot force it any more than love.” (William Hazlett)

Throughout these short and beautiful quotes on friendship, we realize one thing. Friendship and love often go hand in hand. Because in reality, few forms of love are more beautiful and enriching.

So, let friendship arise on its own. Let the magic of coincidences unite us with special people.

45. “True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo & withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.” (George Washington)

True friendships resist time, inclement weather, and the adversities of destiny.

46. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love.” (Elie Weisel)

There are loves that come and go, but sometimes a friendship leaves deeper caresses in the soul.

47. “Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there.” (Steg Larsson)

The journalist and well-known author of the Millennium trilogy gave us one of the most accurate phrases about the meaning of friendship: Respect and trust.

48. “Friendship is a word, the very sight of which in print makes the heart warm.” (Augustine Birrell)

Few things give greater harmony, vitality, and affection to our hearts than those stainless friendships that are always there, that don’t miss a thing, and know us as well as we know ourselves.

49. “In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.” (Khalil Gibran)

Friends are made of good times, laughter, complicity, healing embraces, and moments of absolute sweetness.

50. “Women’s friendships are like a renewable source of power.” (Jane Fonda)

The actress Jane Fonda left us one of the most authentic quotes on friendship, one that would even serve as a wonderful slogan. Few things are as important to women as good friendships.

51. “Friendship is the wine of life.” (EdwardYoung)

Friendship is the wine of life because it knows how to mature over time because it’s the essence of the most stimulating thing that life offers us.

52. “What I know for sure is that if you can survive 11 days in cramped quarters with a friend and come out laughing, your friendship is the real deal. I know ours is.” (Oprah Winfrey)

The presenter Oprah Winfrey once again gives us a piece of her original wisdom. No matter the time shared or the place, when friendship is authentic, the hours fly by.

53. “Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives.” (Alexander Dumas)

Alexandre Dumas also offered us a legacy of the value of friendship in his novel The 3 Musketeers. With this phrase, he also reminds us of the importance of reciprocity.

54. “Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.” (Misty Copeland)

If you have at least one person you feel you can trust and lean on, you have everything.

55. “Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends.” (Virginia Woolf)

The unforgettable writer Virginia Woolf reminds us that each person finds refuge and comfort where they wish, but what could be better than a friend?

56. “I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.” (Walt Whitman)

Walt Whitman reflects on the fact that he doesn’t deserve his friends. It’s nothing more than a way of praising the most beautiful gift available to the affection of those who admire and appreciate it.

57. “There is nothing better than a friend unless it is a friend with chocolate.” (Linda Grayson)

If you and your friend have a sweet tooth, then this is the perfect phrase to celebrate what you share.

58. “There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.” (Sylva Plath)

The poet Sylvia Plath causes us to think, as always, with her original reasoning. There’s nothing like sharing moments of intimacy to discover true friendship.

59. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.” (Stand By Me)

If you want to see a film where you can enjoy the value and importance of friendship, Stand By Me, based on a novel by Stephen King, is a classic.

60. “A friend is an emotional bond, just like friendship is a human experience.” (Simon Synek)

Among the short and beautiful quotes about friendship, this one from the writer and business development expert Simon Sinek is one of the most interesting. Friendship, emotions, and experience are connected arteries.

61. “Friends are medicine for a wounded heart and vitamins for a hopeful soul.” (Steve Maraboli)

How many times have we said that friends are medicine for the soul? This is undoubtedly a great truth.

62. “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 Kontz)

Dean Koontz has given us fabulous horror books and unforgettable arguments like this one. Let’s follow his advice: Never let go of a friend.

63. “My Friends are my estate.” (Emily Dickinson)

Few literary lives are as compelling as Emily Dickinson’s. In the solitude of her voluntary confinement, the letters to her friends were her refuge.

64. “Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.” (H. Jackson Brown Jr.)

Nothing is as gratifying as having those old friends, lifelong friendships that we can now label as “old.”

65. “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” (Jane Austen)

In Jane Austen’s novels, love is not the only eternal protagonist. Friendship is also an essential component in much of her work.

66. “I get by with a little help from my friends.” (The Beatles)

Who doesn’t remember that classic Beatles song?

67. “No road is too long with good company.” (Turkish proverb)

Among the short and beautiful quotes on friendship, this is one of the most classic. No matter how hard life is or how long the journey is, everything is more bearable with a friend by your side.

68. “Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.” (Sarah Desen)

Best friends are like headlights on stormy nights: They guide, illuminate, and save us.

69. “My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.” (Aristotle)

Aristotle makes us think with this phrase. Every good friend will always wish us the best and will do so even when we doubt ourselves. They’re those figures capable of getting into our skin to pull us and make us achieve the best of this world.

70. “True friendship is true knowledge.” (Henry David Thoreau)

When a friend is a real friend, everything they offer us is sincere and meaningful. There’s no better knowledge than the one that starts from authenticity.

71. “Hold tight to a true friend, hold on with both hands.” (Nigerian proverb)

Among the short and beautiful quotes about friendship, this is one of the most beautiful. When a friend needs us, we must deploy all our resources and motivation to help them.

72. “True friendship resists time, distance and silence.” (Isabel Allende)

The great Isabel Allende reminds us of one of the most beautiful laws of true friendship. Let’s keep them in mind.

73. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” (Elbert Hubbard)

Let’s face it: There are times when we don’t even love ourselves. We all have our bad days, flaws, and weaknesses. But good friends adore us despite those shades of grey.

74. “Friendship doubles joy and cuts grief in half.” (Francis Bacon)

Francis Bacon gives us one of the most beautiful quotes about friendship. Remember, not everyone is capable of intensifying our joys and dividing our sorrows. But that’s what great friends do.

75. “Genuine friendship can only be based on trust and affection, which can only arise when there is a mutual sense of concern and respect.” (Dalai Lama)

Once again, the Dalai Lama offers us untarnishable wisdom: Friendship is and must always be respectful.

76. “The best mirror is an old friend.” (George Herbert)

There are friends who are like our other halves, people who know everything about us and see, understand, and decipher us with the same clarity as a mirror.

77. “Plant a seed of friendship; reap a bouquet of happiness.” (Lois L. Kaufman)

How many seeds of friendship have you already planted? Don’t give up; some may have failed you and didn’t flourish as you expected. However, there are seeds that are truly fruitful and will never disappoint you.

78. “Change your pleasures, but don’t change your friends.” (Voltaire)

You can change your hairstyle, city, and hobbies. But if the friendship is good, don’t change it for anything.

79. “No man is useless while he has a friend.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Every person who knows how to care, appreciate, and enjoy a friendship is someone special.

80. “When a friend asks, there is no tomorrow.” (George Herbert)

Among the short and beautiful quotes about friendship, we couldn’t go without mentioning this one. We should be swift, responsible, and worthy when a friend is in need. If they need help, we should respond right away.

81. “God is not so wary as we, else he would give us no friends.” (Emily Dickinson)

Again, Emily Dickinson reflects on the value of friendship, a clear blessing from above.

82. “If you need a hand, remember that I have two.” (Saint Agustine)

Saint Augustine reminds us of the importance of knowing how to help and giving everything we have to those we love most, especially to our friends.

83. “Never explain – your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.” (Elbert Hubbard)

Good friends won’t ask you for explanations in the face of life’s vicissitudes. Anyone who appreciates you, knows you, and admires you already knows everything about you.

84. “Real friendship is like fluorescence, it shines better when everything has darkened.” (Rabindranath Tagore)

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Rabindranath Tagore, reminds us of the importance of the light of friendship to guide us in times of darkness.

85. “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” (Walter Winchell)

It’s true: In times of loneliness and in moments of misfortune, we can recognize true friends.

86. “Our most intimate friend is not he to whom we show the worst, but the best of our nature.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Showing our vulnerability, what touches and moves us, is something we do only with those we consider friends.

87. “A friend is, as it were, a second self.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

Who hasn’t felt that a good friend is almost like an extension of themself?

88. “The friend must be like blood, which goes to the wound without waiting to be called.” (Francisco Quevedo)

We always appreciate and value our friends’ willingness to be by our side when we need them.

89. “Rejoicing in our joy, not suffering over our suffering, makes someone a friend.” (Friedrich Nietzsche)

A true friend avoids envy and rejoices at our achievements.

90. “You’re like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Our friends become the most special beings in the world for our hearts.

To conclude, these short and beautiful quotes about friendship are authentic literary treasures worth dedicating to those special people in our lives.