When we were young, we used to think that having a lot of friends is a cool thing. Well, it may be nice to have a lot of friends but when we are starting to mature, we’ll realize that having true friends is more important than having a lot of fake¹ friends.

当我们年轻的时候，常会觉得拥有一大帮朋友是一件很酷的事情。其实，有许多朋友确实不是一件坏事，可是当我们慢慢成熟起来的时候，我们就会意识到，拥有几个真正的朋友比拥有一大堆狐朋狗友更为重要。

True friends accept you for who you really are while fake friends only like you for certain reasons because they could just use you or they are only friendly to you because they only need something from you or they see you as beneficial.

真正的朋友会接受最真实的你，而虚假的朋友为了能够利用你，只是为了某种特定的原因才喜欢你。或者他们与你结交只是为了从你这一获取某种东西，又或他们认为与你结交有利可图。

Sometimes you meet your true friends at the most unexpected times while you meet your fake friends in common situations.

有时候，恰是在最意想不到的场合下我们与真正的朋友相遇，而虚假的朋友总是出现在平常的场合。

True friends would tell you straight up what they dislike about you or if they have any problem with you while fake friends would rather say false appreciation² to you.

真正的朋友会直白的告诉你，他们讨厌你的小脾气，告诉你如何惹恼了他们。而虚假的朋友则会说些虚假的讨好话给你听。

True friends remember the smallest details about you while fake friends only remember some of your “basic” details.

真正的朋友会记得你最细微的癖好，而虚假的朋友只会记住关于你的基本个人信息。

You could talk to your true friends about anything that you want to talk about while you become selective with the topics that you opt³ to talk about with your fake friends without you noticing it.

你可以对真正的朋友道出任何你想说的话，而当你和虚假的朋友说话的时候，你要对所说的话题挑三拣四，字斟句酌，可能你自己都没有意识到这一点。

True friends really care about you while fake friends only care about what would be beneficial from you.

真正的朋友真心在乎你，而虚假的朋友只在乎从你这儿能得到的利益。

True friends envision their future with you while fake friends don’t even see their future with you.

真正的朋友把你融入自己对未来的设想之中，而虚假的朋友根本看不到你在他们未来的生活里。

True friends ask you how you are after a long time of not being with each other while fake friends don’t even remember you.

如果你们有很长一段时间没有见面，真正的朋友会问你好不好，而虚假的朋友根本不会想起你。

True friends want you to be happy while fake friends want to see you miserable⁴.

真正的朋友希望你幸福，而虚假的朋友希望你生活悲惨。

Keep your circle small. Having few friends is better than having a lot of fake friends because at least you know that no matter what, they would be there for you while fake friends are bound to leave you.

让自己的圈子小小的。三两知己比拥有一大堆狐朋狗友要好，因为至少你知道，无论发生什么，真正的 朋友都会在你身边，而虚假的朋友则准备好了要离你而去。