Friendship, deep and meaningful ones, can be some of the greatest and most lasting relationships we will ever have.

There are times when a lifelong friendship is the longest and most meaningful relationship that someone will ever experience.

We are often far better at recognizing what it means for someone to be a good friend to us than we do at what it means to be a good friend to another.

This is the time to consider its true meaning, and how great relationships like this work in both directions. Here are some thoughts and cool friendship quotes for you to ponder.

Don’t forget to also read our collection of funny quotes on friendship.

The Best Friendship Quotes and Sayings

1. “There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

2. “How beautiful it is to find someone who asks for nothing but your company.” – Brigitte Nicole

3. “Friendship is the wine of life.” – Edward Young

4. “Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” ― Aristotle

5. “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”— Helen Keller

6. “True friends are like diamonds — bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.”― Nicole Richie

7. “Some people go to priests. Others to poetry. I to my friends.”— Virginia Woolfe

8. “The best mirror is an old friend.” ― George Herbert

9. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

10. “A friend is someone who makes it easy to believe in yourself.” – Heidi Wills

11. “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

12. “The great thing about new friends is that they bring new energy to your soul.” — Shanna Rodriguez

13. “Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.” ― Oscar Wilde

14. “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

If you’re enjoying this article, you might also like our collection of happy birthday quotes and wishes for your best friend.

15. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12.” — Stand by Me

16. “You’ve got a friend in me.” — Toy Story

17. “No friendship is an accident.” ― O. Henry, Heart of the West

18. “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.” — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

19. “A good friend is like a four leaf clover; hard to find and lucky to have.” — Irish Proverb

20. “Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest, it’s about who walked in to your life, said “I’m here for you,” and PROVED it.” — Unknown

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Instagram Bio quotes that define the real you.

21. “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

22. “A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” — Proverbs 27:9

23. “There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met.” ― Jim Henson, ‘I’m Going To Go Back There Someday’

24. “Friendship is delicate as a glass, once broken it can be fixed but there will always be cracks.” — Waqar Ahmed

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of sad love quotes to help you deal with difficult emotions.

25. “Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.” ― Socrates

26. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” ― Elie Wiesel

You might also like these fake friends quotes that will give you perspective on the difference between those who are real and those who aren’t.

27. “Sitting silently beside a friend who is hurting may be the best gift we can give.” — Unknown

28. “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself  — and especially to feel, or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at any moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is.” ― Jim Morrison

29. “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.” — Buddha

You’ll also love these new friends quotes celebrating our ability to make adult friends.

30. “A strong friendship doesn’t need daily conversation or being together. As long as the relationship lives in the heart, true friends never part.”— Anonymous

Short Friendship Quotes for Inspiration

31. “We’ll be friend ’til we’re old and senile. … Then we’ll be new friends!”— Anonymous

32. “A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.”— Anonymous

33. “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”— E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

34. “The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” — Elizabeth Foley
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of inspirational quotes for friends to show just how much they mean to you.

35. “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” ― Linda Grayson

36. “Ooh you’re the best friend that I ever had

I’ve been with you such a long time

You’re my sunshine and I want you to know

That my feelings are true

I really love you

Oh you’re my best friend”— Queen

37. “Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them.” — Anna Taylor

38. “If you wanna find out who’s a true friend, screw up or go through a challenging time … then see who sticks around.” — Karen Salmonsohn

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Instagram Bio quotes that define the real you.

39. “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

40. “Some souls just understand each other upon meeting.” — N.R. Hart

41. “A true friend is someone who will always love you — the imperfect, the confused, the wrong you — because that is what people are supposed to do.” — R. J. L.

42. “Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends.”— It’s a Wonderful Life

You might also like these hug quotes for when you need one.

43. “We’ll be friends forever, won’t we, Pooh?” Asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered.” — Winnie The Pooh

44. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

45. “A friend to all is a friend to none.”― Aristotle

Make sure to read our collection of relationship quotes celebrating real love.

46. “Friends are medicine for a wounded heart, and vitamins for a hopeful soul.” — Steve Maraboli

47. “In my friend, I find a second self.” — Isabel Norton

Friendship Quotes to Share With Your BFFs

48. “A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” – Donna Roberts

49. “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.” – C.S. Lewis

50. “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

51. “Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.” – Jean de La Fontaine

52. “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

53. “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

54. “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

55. “Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.” — Henry David Thoreau

56. “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

57. “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” – Khalil Gibson

Did these friendship quotes help you realize the true meaning of friendship?

Many times, we think that we are a great friend, that we give and give, and that everyone else does not measure up.

But are we truly being honest about what it means to be selfless, to be there for another, to care as much about their happiness and well-being as we do our own?

More often than not, what people say to me is that they are frustrated that they are not getting in return what they are giving out. This means they are asking for something, or they have expectations of the other.

When it comes to true, deep friendships, it’s all about balance. Be a good friend, in order to have good, lasting friends.