网友(wǎng yǒu) - internet friend in Mandarin

网友 (wǎng yǒu) is built from 网 (wǎng, net) and 友 (yǒu, friend), the same 友 (yǒu) in 朋友 (péng yǒu), friend. Its core sense is an individual friend or acquaintance made online, someone you know only, or mainly, through the internet: 他是我的网友，我们从没见过面 (tā shì wǒ de wǎng yǒu, wǒ men cóng méi jiàn guò miàn), "he is my internet friend, we have never met in person".

The same word does a second job in news and comment sections, standing in for "netizens" much like 网民 (wǎng mín): 网友们对这部电影评价很高 (wǎng yǒu men duì zhè bù diàn yǐng píng jià hěn gāo), "netizens rated this film very highly". Which sense is meant is almost always clear from whether the sentence names one relationship or reports a crowd's reaction.

Do not mistake 网友 (wǎng yǒu) for a lesser word than 朋友 (péng yǒu); it names where the friendship started, not how real or close it is. Plenty of 网友 (wǎng yǒu) relationships turn into offline friendships, at which point people usually just call them 朋友 (péng yǒu) instead.