Learn Hardcore Chinese: zài péngyou zhōng, tā zuì ài lǚyóu. - Among her friends, she loves traveling the most.

中 in 在…中 is very common for “among / within a group” when making comparisons or talking about statistics, rankings, preferences, etc.
- 在同学中，他最受欢迎。 – Among classmates, he is the most popular.
- 在这些书中，这本最好。 – Among these books, this one is the best.
里 is more about physical inside-ness, or “within” a container/space:
- 在房间里 – in the room
- 在盒子里 – in the box

With 朋友, if you say 在朋友里, it doesn’t sound natural; 里 implies a physical inside, which doesn’t fit well with friends as a group. For “among friends,” native speakers overwhelmingly say:

在朋友中
在朋友当中
在朋友之中

So for this sentence, 中 is the right and natural choice.

Is 在朋友中，她最爱旅游。 the only correct word order? Can I move 在朋友中 after 她?

You can use both word orders:

在朋友中，她最爱旅游。
– This puts the “among friends” part first, as a topic. It has a light emphasis on that context: “As for among friends, she loves traveling the most.”
她在朋友中最爱旅游。
– This is also natural and maybe slightly more neutral. The sentence starts directly with the subject 她.

Both are correct, commonly used, and mean the same thing in everyday speech. The difference is very subtle and often not important in conversation.

Why is it just 朋友 and not 她的朋友? Where did “her” go?

Chinese often omits possessives like 我的 / 你的 / 她的 when the owner is obvious from context.

In 在朋友中，她最爱旅游。, it naturally means “among her friends”, because:

The subject is 她 (“she”), and
The default assumption is that the 朋友 being discussed are her friends.

If you really want to stress that these are specifically her friends (and not someone else’s), you can say:

在她的朋友中，她最爱旅游。

But in normal conversation, 在朋友中 is enough and sounds more natural and less repetitive.

What exactly does 最 (zuì) do here? Is it like “very” or “most”?

最 (zuì) marks the superlative — “the most” in English.

爱旅游 – likes / loves traveling
最爱旅游 – loves traveling the most (compared to others)

So 最 doesn’t mean “very” here; it is explicitly comparing her with other friends in that group:

她爱旅游。 – She loves traveling. (no comparison)
在朋友中，她最爱旅游。 – Among (her) friends, she loves traveling the most.

Other examples:

他最高。 – He is the tallest.
这本书最好看。 – This book is the most enjoyable to read.

What’s the nuance of 爱 (ài) here? Does it mean romantic love or just “like very much”? Could we use 喜欢 (xǐhuan) instead?

爱 (ài) has several uses:

Romantic or deep emotional love
- 我爱你。 – I love you.
Strong liking / being really into something (very common in daily speech)
- 我爱吃辣的。 – I love eating spicy food.
- 他爱运动。 – He loves exercising.

In 她最爱旅游, it means she really likes / is very into traveling, not romantic love.

You could say 喜欢 instead:

在朋友中，她最喜欢旅游。

This is also correct. 爱 is a bit stronger or more emphatic than 喜欢, like “really love” vs “like.” But both are natural here.

Is 旅游 (lǚyóu) a verb, a noun, or both? Do I need an object after it?

旅游 (lǚyóu) can be used as both a verb and a noun-like activity word:

As a verb: 去旅游 – to go traveling / go on a trip
As an activity: 我喜欢旅游。 – I like traveling.

In 她最爱旅游, 旅游 is functioning like a verb “to travel” or an activity “traveling.”
No object is needed; it’s complete as is.

Related words:

旅行 (lǚxíng) – very close in meaning; often interchangeable with 旅游 in many cases.
旅游 often has a stronger “sightseeing / tourism” feel.
旅行 can be slightly broader, including business trips, long journeys, etc., though in casual speech the difference is small.

Examples:

我想去欧洲旅游。 – I want to travel to Europe (for tourism).
他出差旅行很多。 – He travels a lot on business.

What’s the difference between 旅游 (lǚyóu) and 旅 (lǚ) alone? Why not just use 旅?

旅 (lǚ) by itself is not usually used alone as a verb meaning “to travel” in modern Chinese.

旅 appears in compounds:
- 旅游 – travel (for leisure)
- 旅馆 – hotel/inn
- 旅客 – traveler/passenger
- 旅程 – journey/itinerary

If you just say 旅, it sounds incomplete or archaic.
So:

Use 旅游 / 旅行 for “to travel / traveling.”
Don’t say 她最爱旅 – that would be wrong in modern usage.

How do I correctly pronounce and type 旅 (lǚ) with ü? Is it lu or lü?

旅 is pronounced lǚ (third tone) with ü, not lu.

Pronunciation:

Mouth shape is like saying “ee,” but with the lips rounded.

Typing (on a standard pinyin input):

Type lv (L + V) to get lü.
So type lvyou to get 旅游.

Examples:

女 (nǚ) – nǚ (type nv)
旅行 (lǚxíng) – lǚxíng (type lvxing)

Why is 朋友 pronounced péngyou and not péngyǒu? Isn’t 友 third tone?

You’re right: the character 友 by itself is pronounced yǒu (third tone).

However, in the word 朋友:

朋: péng (second tone)
友: becomes you with a neutral tone (轻声 qīngshēng)

So the word is:

péngyou (2 + neutral), not péngyǒu.

This kind of tone reduction to neutral tone happens in many common disyllabic words, especially where the second syllable is a common suffix-like element in speech. It makes the word sound more natural and fluent.

How is 中 (zhōng) being used here? Does it always mean “middle”?

Literally, 中 (zhōng) does mean “middle / center,” but in many expressions it extends to mean “within / among / in the context of.”

In 在朋友中:

It’s part of the fixed pattern 在 + group + 中, meaning “among / within (a group)”.

Other examples:

在学生中很有名。 – Very famous among the students.
在中国历史中，他很重要。 – He is very important in Chinese history.

So, while the core meaning is “middle,” the practical sense here is “within the set of friends” = “among friends.”

Can I say 在朋友们中 to emphasize “friends” as plural? Why don’t we see 们 here?

们 (men) is a plural marker for people, but it’s not required every time something is plural.

朋友 already implies “friend(s).”
When you say 在朋友中, it naturally means “among friends” (plural).

Using 在朋友们中 is not wrong, but:

It sounds a bit heavier and less natural in many contexts.
It’s more common when you want to emphasize a specific, limited group of friends:
- 在我的这些朋友们中，他最幽默。 – Among these friends of mine, he is the funniest.

In this simple sentence, 在朋友中 is the most natural and normal expression.

Does this sentence mean she is currently traveling, or just that she likes traveling in general? How is tense expressed?

Chinese doesn’t mark tense the way English does with -ed, will, etc. Instead, it often relies on context, time words, and aspect particles.

In 在朋友中，她最爱旅游。, there’s:

No time word (like 现在 “now” or 以前 “before”),
No aspect particle (like 了 or 过),

So the default reading is a general, timeless fact:

“Among her friends, she is the one who loves traveling the most.”
It describes her habit or personality, not what she is doing right now.

If you wanted to stress the present ongoing action, you’d say something different, like:

在朋友中，她现在旅行得最多。 – Among her friends, she is currently the one who travels the most.