On the TV program “Surprise Wedding,” the wife often says that her husband is her “best friend.” What does this mean?

　　Most Chinese learners of English naturally think of social relationships in the Chinese way: Relationships with parents, relationships with cousins (and traditionally sisters and brothers), relationships with teachers and other members of the "older generation," etc.

　　Asians, including Chinese, also think of a special relationship for "friends" and for "classmates." One thing I have noticed is that often these "relationship categories" are mutually exclusive-- in other words, if the label you use for Wang Guoqiang is "classmate," then you won't call him your "friend."

　　In the West, these categories can overlap. I might call my very close classmate from college my "friend." If I were introducing her to someone, I might say, "This is my old friend, Sarah. She was my classmate in graduate school."

　　Similarly, in the West, it is not uncommon for a wife (of any age-- from 20 to 90 years old) to say about her husband something like: "Michael is my best friend." Or to have a husband say the same thing about his wife. In the United States, this is considered a very sincere way of saying that you have a warm relationship with your spouse. By saying that the spouse is the "best friend," you are saying that you would rather spend time with that person than with any other person.