‘Frenemy’ in Japanese: Why フレネミー Became One of 2026’s Words of the Year Nominees

She always compliments your outfit — right before mentioning that she saw the same one on sale. He congratulates you on your promotion, then tells everyone you got lucky. They’re your friend. Probably. Mostly.

English has a word for this: frenemy. And in 2026, Japanese has it too. フレネミー (furenemī) was named one of the 30 nominees for this year’s Word of the Year, alongside words like りくりゅう and 好きすぎて滅！ (see the full list).

What フレネミー means in Japanese

フレネミー combines friend and enemy. In Japanese, it describes someone who:

• acts like a friend on the surface,
• but quietly competes with you, envies you, or holds you back,
• often in ways that are hard to call out directly.

The word itself isn’t brand new, but this year it became familiar enough to be shortlisted by the Word of the Year organizers.

Why it hit home in Japan

Japanese social life places a high value on 和 (wa), harmony. Open fights between friends are uncommon, and people often avoid saying negative things directly. That creates the perfect environment for quiet rivalry:

• a backhanded compliment
• subtle bragging
• comparing lives on social media

Having a word for it makes it easier to talk about. Saying “she’s a bit of a フレネミー” is softer than saying “she’s not really my friend.”

フレネミー gives a name to the friendship you can’t quite explain — and can’t quite leave.

Related words you’ll hear

マウント (maunto)

From “mount,” as in getting on top of someone. マウントを取る means to put yourself above others — showing off your salary, your partner, your vacation. A frenemy’s favorite move. Someone who does this a lot is a マウント女子 or マウント男子.

嫉妬 (shitto)

Jealousy. Often the real feeling behind frenemy behavior.

距離を置く (kyori o oku)

“To put distance.” The classic Japanese solution: no dramatic breakup, just slowly seeing someone less.

敵か味方か (teki ka mikata ka)

“Enemy or ally?” A phrase you’ll hear in dramas when a character’s loyalty is unclear.

A note on Japanese loanwords

フレネミー is a good example of how Japanese adapts English. The sounds shift to fit Japanese syllables: fren-e-my becomes フ・レ・ネ・ミー. The long ー mark stretches the final vowel. Once you know the patterns, many katakana words become easy to decode — like エモい (from emotional, see our explainer) and タイパ (from time performance, see our explainer).

So… do you have a フレネミー?

If you do, Japanese culture has advice for you: 距離を置こうかな — maybe it’s time for a little distance.