The label “girlfriend” (or boyfriend, for that matter) for an adult with whom another adult has an adult relationship has always struck me as funny. I myself carry the label “wife” and occasionally “significant other” (which sounds incredibly insignificant) but if I did not have a state ratified contract I’d be a girlfriend of 65 to a boyfriend of 73 – which sounds ridiculous. I’m not sure at what age one can be called a fully grown woman, whether it’s 18, 21, 30 or whatever but by 65 I definitely consider myself a woman.
In German, we only have the term “Freund” (for a male) or “Freundin” (for a female). Whether it’s a romantic relationship or not has to be found out through context – or possibly a direct question.
FOWC with Fandango: Girlfriend
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pictures imperfect blog 
Good point, Elke!
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Thanks. It’s nice to be understood.
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Well said girlfriend 😁
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😁 Funny though, I just realised that girlfriend can be used romantically or not, e.g. between two women. But boyfriend works differently. I stick with LotR: Mellon.
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True. I have a girlfriend coming round later on with her boyfriend. But he’s not my boyfriend though I’ve been friends with him for longer than with her.
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Language is funny. I try to tell my students that language is not logical. Which is a difficult concept to convey if you don’t know what logic in their language is, or even if the concept is the same. I try with mathematics. 2+2=4 in maths, but in language it can equal 5 or 3.354 or something completely different. I don’t know if I succeed.
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Even trying sounds an achievement to me.
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