What does “-friendly” mean in English (pet-friendly, kid-friendly)?
Preparing A Pet-Friendly Airbnb For Dog Guests
A2 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know a little
This host prepares a pet-friendly Airbnb, meaning a place that welcomes pets. The real prize here is the suffix -friendly. Attach it to almost any noun and you get “good for” or “not hostile to” that thing: kid-friendly restaurants, eco-friendly products, budget-friendly prices, beginner-friendly apps. English builds new adjectives this way constantly.
Listen for two more useful bits: a fully fenced yard (completely enclosed), and doggy bags, which here means bags for dog waste. Heads up, the same phrase can mean a box for restaurant leftovers, so context decides. Learn -friendly and you instantly understand a whole family of everyday English adjectives.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this A2 English listening practice video?
How common in written English
How common in spoken English
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In Airbnb and Booking.com listings: pet-friendly, family-friendly
- ▸On product labels: eco-friendly, skin-friendly, wallet-friendly
- ▸In app and software reviews: beginner-friendly, user-friendly
- ▸In US travel and pet-care blogs about bringing dogs along
- ▸Anywhere a business signals “you and yours are welcome here”