The 1990s and early 2000s sitcom Friends has gone down in history as one of the best ensemble sitcoms of all time. Of course, it was about friendship, following the lives of six people in their twenties living in New York.
As they tried to find themselves, including where they wanted to head in their careers, in love, and in life in general, they were always there for one another through thick and thin. It’s enough to make any group of friends want to share a big group hug.
Updated on March 14th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: Although Friends has been off the air for almost two decades, viewers watch and rewatch every now and then to feel the comfort, love, and hilarity of the show. The friends begin the series close and become even closer as they face struggles and support each other in their lives allowing for some great quotes around the central theme of the show, friendship. There are hilarious and heartwarming lines throughout the series and a lot of romantic and platonic relationships as well.
“Phoebe, You Are So Beautiful. You're So Kind. You're So Generous. You’re So Wonderfully Weird.”
Phoebe is one of the oddest and most lovable characters on Friends and she finally found a great match for her in Mike (Paul Rudd). Mike says this line as part of his vows for their wedding and shows exactly why the two are a great pair.
He appreciates Phoebe's quirks and calls her wonderfully weird, which is a great and lovely descriptor for her. The two have a lovely friendship within their romantic partnership.
"Chandler, in all my life, I never thought I would be so lucky as to fall in love with my best... my best... there's a reason why girls don't do this."
Chandler romantically tries to propose to Monica and Monica turns it around and tries to propose to him. It's a hilarious and adorable moment as the two both have trouble expressing their feelings for each other in words as they both keep breaking down crying.
Monica says that she never would have thought she'd be so lucky to fall in love with her best friend, but she's so happy and overwhelmed that she can barely get the words out.
"I turned to a friend for comfort and instead I found everything that I had been looking for my whole life..."
"I turned to a friend for comfort and instead I found everything that I had been looking for my whole life. And now, here we are with our future before us, and I only want to spend it with you, my prince, my soulmate, my friend."
Monica and Chandler were one of the most popular couples of the series and arguably more stable and healthier than Ross and Rachel. Monica and Chandler weren't planning to start a romantic relationship, but the two friends truly grew as romantic soulmates throughout the series.
Monica says these lines at their wedding as part of her vows. She says that Chandler is her one true soulmate and the two are still true friends as they start their romantic journey together.
"I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"
Chandler is pretty self-aware and knows his strengths and weaknesses, especially as a supportive friend. Chandler is supportive as a friend and tries his best while also trying to play into his strengths.
He knows he's the funny and sarcastic guy of the group that isn't the best at emotional moments or very serious advice, but he will cheer up his friends with a sarcastic comment when they need it the most.
"I'll write you everyday: 15 Yemen Road, Yemen."
Although Chandler is obviously lying about moving to Yemen to try to get away from Janice, it's still an incredibly sweet line from her showing that she is a true friend. Janice was nothing but herself and nice to all of the friends, mostly Chandler.
When Chandler says he's moving to Yemen she's heartbroken but understands, and she says that she'll write to him every day even if they aren't dating.
"She's your lobster."
Although this line from Phoebe is more romantic as she's convincing Ross that he and Rachel belong together, it's still a line about a special connection between two people and doesn't necessarily have to mean romance and could be applied to a friendship.
Phoebe says that Ross and Rachel are meant to be together, they're like lobsters who find their fellow lobster and mate for life. The lobster line describes all the friends who found each other, stayed together, and will continue to be in each other's lives forever.
"Why don’t you stop worrying about sounding smart and just be yourself?"
Monica is known for her tough love throughout the show and this line she says to Joey is great friend advice even if it's a little blunt. Joey isn't known for his smarts, but he's an endearing and loveable character and the friends support him whenever he needs help.
Monica tells him to stop acting like he needs to be something he's not and stop worrying about whether he sounds smart or not and just be himself.
"Look around you guys, this was your first home, and it was a happy place filled with love and laughter."
As Monica and Chandler prepare to move with their newborn twins and the series comes to an end, Chandler takes a moment to reminisce about the apartment that was their kids' first home.
It's a sentimental moment as the two have been struggling with the fact they're going to move from the apartments that they both loved so much and specifically Monica's apartment where most of the show has taken place. It was certainly a place filled with love, laughter, happiness, and friendship throughout the show.
“A promise between friends means never having to give a reason.”
Isn’t that the truth? You’ve probably, at one time or another, had a best friend ask you to keep something a secret, without any rhyme or reason why. You trust them and are happy to oblige because, well, that’s what friends are for.
In the series, Phoebe speaks these words to Joey when he’s having a hard time with something. While you wouldn’t often think of such prophetic words coming out of the quirky and eccentric woman’s mouth, she recognizes when her friends need her, and knows the right thing to say.
“You're not alone. We don't know where we're going! You just gotta figure at some point it’s all gonna come together.”
Camaraderie is important, and that means showing your friends that they aren’t alone in whatever they’re going through. Either you guys are going through the same thing, or you promise to be there for one another no matter what unique plight you face.
This quote might have been delivered with a harsh dose of reality by Monica, speaking to Rachel when she was feeling dejected about not having a life plan. Monica’s intention was to cheer her up, and while it might not have made her feel better about her life, at least she knew she was not alone.
"Boyfriends and girlfriends will come and go, but this is for life.”
Everyone has had that friend, or maybe even been that friend, who gets a girlfriend or boyfriend and disappears off the face of the earth. Until they break up, that is, and they come back crying. A good friend, of course, is always there. But it doesn’t hurt to remind them that, regardless of who they date, nor how good the relationship is, through the good and the bad, friends will always be there for you.
Again, these words that give you all the feels were spoken by Phoebe to Joey after he stood her up because he got a last-minute date. Tsk tsk, Joey. Mates always come before dates.
“I stepped up! She’s my friend and she needed help. And if I have to, I’d pee on any one of you!”
Proudly spoken by Joey after he saved Monica from a jellyfish sting, it’s silly but touching at the same time because, well, urinating on the site of the sting actually does help.
Even when not taken literally, the point is that Monica was in a lot of pain (granted it was physical pain) and Joey was there to help. Thankfully he knew this useful fact from having watched the Discovery Channel.
"I guess they weren’t as good friends as we are.”
When discussing how Monica and Chandler managed to pursue a romantic relationship, and eventually get married, Rachel asked the question, “I wonder how Monica and Chandler could do it?” Joey replied with the above quote.
It’s a touching one for any pair of friends who have ever felt that they might have had feelings for one another, but then realized that the friendship was far more important, and far more powerful a relationship than a courtship ever could be.
“It’s okay. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you thought they would.”
A terribly sad moment in the series, Ross consoled Rachel after her break-up with Joshua, which only happened because she pushed for marriage (after four dates!) out of jealousy because Ross was about to marry Emily.
Okay, so this scenario might not exactly be common among friends. But the sentiment is, having a friend console you after a break-up as you come to the realization that life never really works out the way you plan, or sometimes even want.
“You can’t just give up! Is that what a dinosaur would do?”
Not surprisingly, it’s Joey who speaks these super-cute words that don’t really make much sense. But since Joey once filled out an application for Ross listing “dinosaurs” as his occupation, it’s clear that’s the extent of his understanding of what Ross actually does.
Ross is a paleontologist, a scientist who studies fossils. So, yes, dinosaurs are involved, but Ross’s job is a bit more complex than that. Nonetheless, Joey’s words are hilarious and will make any fan think back to any time a good friend said something totally silly that made them laugh when they were feeling down or they were facing a big dilemma.