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watasi ha tomodati to naka ga ii desu.

私わたし　は　友達ともだち　と　仲なか　が　いい　です。watasi ha tomodati to naka ga ii desu.
I get along well with my friends.
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha tomodati to naka ga ii desu.

What does 仲 mean here, and how should I think about 仲がいい in English?

仲 (なか) literally means something like “relationship / the state of relations between people.”

The phrase 仲がいい is a set expression that means:

  • to have a good relationship (with someone)
  • to get along well (with someone)
  • to be on good terms (with someone)

So 友達と仲がいい is not “the inside is good,” but rather “(my) relationship with my friend(s) is good / I get along well with my friend(s).”

Why is the particle と after 友達? What does 友達と mean here?

In this sentence, と means “with.”

  • 友達と = “with (my) friend / with (my) friends”

So:

  • 友達と仲がいい = “(my) relationship with my friend(s) is good.”

This use of と is common when talking about relationships or doing things together with someone:

  • 兄と仲がいい。= I’m on good terms with my older brother.
  • 先生と話します。= I talk with my teacher.
  • 友達と映画を見ます。= I watch a movie with my friend.
Why is が used after 仲? Why not は or を?

Here, 仲 is the grammatical subject of the adjective いい (“good”).

Japanese has a common pattern:

  • X が いい / 好き / 嫌い / 上手 / 下手, etc.
    → “X is good / liked / disliked / skilled / bad at,” etc.

In this sentence:

  • 仲 = the thing being described
  • いい = the adjective “good”
  • が marks 仲 as what is “good.”

So:

  • 仲がいい ≈ “(the) relationship is good.”

は would make 仲 the topic (which would sound odd here), and を marks direct objects, which doesn’t fit with an adjective like いい.

Why are both は and が in the same sentence: 私は … 仲がいいです?

This is a very typical topic–comment structure in Japanese.

  • 私 は = “As for me / talking about me,” → topic
  • 友達と仲 が いいです = “(my) relationship with my friend(s) is good.” → comment, where 仲 is the subject of いい.

So the overall structure is:

As for me, (my) relationship with my friend(s) is good.

Having both は (topic) and が (subject) in one sentence is completely normal in Japanese.

Do I have to say 私? Can I just say 友達と仲がいいです?

You can absolutely omit 私 in most natural conversations.

Japanese often leaves out things that are obvious from context:

  • 友達と仲がいいです。
    If the context is clear, this will be understood as “I get along well with my friend(s).”

You might include 私:

  • When you need to contrast:
    • 私は友達と仲がいいですが、弟はあまり仲がよくありません。
      = I get along well with my friends, but my younger brother doesn’t really.
  • Or when the subject is not obvious from context and you want to be clear.
Does 友達 here mean “friend” or “friends”? How do I know the number?

友達 (ともだち) does not mark singular vs plural by itself. It can mean either:

  • a friend
  • friends

So 友達と仲がいいです could be:

  • “I get along well with my friend,” or
  • “I get along well with my friends.”

Context usually tells you which is intended. If you want to be explicit, you can say:

  • 一人の友達と仲がいいです。= I get along well with one friend.
  • たくさんの友達と仲がいいです。= I get along well with many friends.
  • その友達と仲がいいです。= I get along well with that friend.
Why is there です at the end when いい is already an adjective? Isn’t いい enough?

In Japanese, い-adjectives (like いい, 高い, 新しい) can form a complete predicate by themselves in casual speech:

  • 友達と仲がいい。= I get along well with my friend(s).

However, in polite speech, it’s common to add です after an い-adjective to make the sentence more polite:

  • 友達と仲がいいです。= polite version.

So:

  • without です → casual
  • with です → polite

Grammatically both are fine; the choice depends on how polite you want to be.

Can 仲がいい be used for romantic relationships, or only for friends?

仲がいい is fairly neutral and can be used for many kinds of close or smooth relationships:

  • Friends:
    • 彼らはとても仲がいい。= They’re really close / They get along very well.
  • Siblings / family:
    • 兄弟は仲がいいです。= The siblings get along well.
  • Couples:
    • あの夫婦は仲がいいですね。= That married couple seems to have a good relationship.

So yes, it can describe romantic couples too, but it focuses on how well they get along, not necessarily on passion or romance. It’s more “they’re on good terms / they’re close” than “they’re in love.”

What’s the difference between 仲がいい and 仲良し?

Both relate to having a good relationship, but they differ slightly in form and nuance.

  1. 仲がいい

    • Grammar: noun (仲) + subject marker (が) + adjective (いい).
    • Means: “(our) relationship is good,” “we get along well.”
    • Example:
      • 私は兄と仲がいいです。= I get along well with my older brother.

  2. 仲良し (なかよし)

    • Often used as a noun meaning “good friends / close friends.”
    • Sometimes used like a na-adjective in casual speech.
    • Example:
      • 私たちは仲良しです。= We’re close friends.
      • 仲良しの友達がいます。= I have a close friend.

You can think:

  • 仲がいい → describes the state of the relationship.
  • 仲良し → labels the people as “good friends / close buddies.”
How do I say the opposite, like “I’m not on good terms with my friend” or “I don’t get along well with them”?

You just put 仲がいい into the negative form:

  • 仲がよくない or 仲がよくありません (polite)

In this pattern, いい usually becomes よくない / よくありません in the negative.

Examples:

  • 私はその人と仲がよくありません。
    = I’m not on good terms with that person.
  • 昔は仲がよかったですが、今はあまり仲がよくないです。
    = We used to get along well, but now we don’t get along very well.
Is いい the same as よい? Which one should I use in 仲がいい?

いい and よい are basically the same word historically.

In modern Japanese:

  • いい is the normal spoken form.
  • よい is a bit more formal / written or used in set phrases.

With 仲がいい, the overwhelmingly common form is:

  • 仲がいい (spoken, everyday)
  • In writing or more formal contexts you may see 仲がよい, but you will sound perfectly natural using 仲がいい in normal conversation.