History Characters / Friends

** [[Characters/FriendsRachelGreen Rachel Green]]
** [[Characters/FriendsMonicaGeller Monica Geller]]
** [[Characters/FriendsPhoebeBuffay Phoebe Buffay]]
** [[Characters/FriendsJoeyTribbiani Joey Tribbiani]]
** [[Characters/FriendsChandlerBing Chandler Bing]]
** [[Characters/FriendsRossGeller Ross Geller]]

A list of characters from ''Series/{{Friends}}''

[[index]]

[[/index]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Main Characters
[[folder: Rachel Karen Green]]
-->Creator/JenniferAniston
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sfdafd_8530.jpg]]

--> ''It's like, all of my life, everyone has always told me, 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe!'. And today I just stopped and I said, 'What if I don't wanna be a shoe? What if I wanna be a- a purse, y'know? Or a- or a hat!"

The baby of the gang, spoiled, naive Rachel enters the series in the first episode in her wedding dress, running away from her own big day. She moves in with Monica, gets a menial job serving coffee, soon learns a little bit more about grownup life and ends up dating Ross off and on (and off and on and off and on and...).

* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Rachel claimed that she had never failed to score when wearing her cheerleader uniform, leading to her donning it at a party in a desperate attempt to win the attention of Joshua in "The One With The Fake Party". It ends with her falling down and biting her lip.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: She's never said to be Jewish on the show and she celebrates Christmas. On the other hand, she fits the JewishAmericanPrincess stereotype, has a Jewish-sounding name and uses the Yiddish word "bubbe" referring to her grandmother. Years later, both [[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/59890/its-been-six-years-but-theyll-always-be-my-jewish-friends/ David Crane]] and [[http://www.jewishtelegraph.com/prof_119.html Marta Kauffman]] [[WordOfGod said]] they wrote her as Jewish.
* AttentionWhore: Best displayed in "TOW Monica's Thunder".
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Ross after their breakup in season 3. Also with her co-worker Gavin in season 9, although he only appears in three episodes.
* BerserkButton:
** Don't tell her that she and Ross were on a break. On the other hand, don't tell Ross that they ''weren't'' on a break.
** Don't mess about on any sailing boat Rachel's on. She's inherited her father's intolerance for not respecting the dangers of being at sea.
* BetterAsFriends: With Joey, after they briefly attempt to date late in the series.
* BettyAndVeronica:
** The Veronica to Julie's Betty for Ross' Archie.
** The Betty to Bonnie's Veronica also for Ross' Archie.
* BigSisterInstinct: Rachel loves her sisters dearly, but there are times where they test her patience, especially when they drag in their niece and future brother-in-law.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: At her worst.
* BookDumb: She doesn't know the plot of ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' or who was the enemy in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (though neither did some of the others). She even actually ''believes'' Phoebe when she sarcastically says that the plot of ''Literature/JaneEyre'' involves cyborgs. She didn't seem to have any trouble with ''LittleWomen'' though.
* CannotSpitItOut: Happens to her often when she likes someone. With Ross in season 2 (subverted in the first episode of season 5), with Joshua in season 4, and with Joey in season 9.
* CatchPhrase: Her long drawn out OhCrap expression of "Nooooo..."
* CharacterDevelopment: While Rachel started out as spoiled, selfish and somewhat incompetent; she eventually became a successful, independent career woman and a mother.
* TheCheerleader: Formerly. This is brought up in several episodes.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Monica.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She can be ''extremely'' jealous of Ross' girlfriends (particularly Julie and Bonnie).
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: To both her sisters. One of them is ''older than her.''
* CoolAunt: While not his actual Aunt, Rachel is delighted when Ross' son, Ben, starts calling her his 'Fun Aunt Rachel' after she teaches him some practical jokes, much to Ross's chagrin.
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Her father ''really'' doesn't like Ross and the feeling is mutual.
* DeadpanSnarker: Rachel shows tendencies of this from season 4 onwards, especially towards Ross.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: She's a terrible driver, and this is why she's the only one whom Monica doesn't let drive the Porsche.
* DudeMagnet: She was one in high school and she's still one as an adult. Aside from all her suitors and/or boyfriends, both Gunther and Ross (and later Joey) remain madly in love with her throughout the show's duration.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Her college friend, played by WinonaRyder, is still in love with her.
* EyeScream: Rachel's phobia.
* {{Fangirl}}: Of soap operas; Joey tells her that he hides his cast parties from her because of this trope, since she fawns over all the actors.
* FirstGirlWins: Of course.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Phlegmatic
* GirlyBruiser: Surprisingly. Rachel is not very athletic and has been described as a pushover, yet in "The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey" she has no problem beating up Joey's PintsizedPowerhouse girlfriend.
* GoldDigger: In her back story. Subverted as she couldn't bring herself to marry Barry and left him at the altar in the pilot episode. She does however encourage Monica to date billionaire Pete Becker despite not loving him and gets very excited about having a 'money-themed' wedding.
* GuiltyPleasures: She claims her favorite movie is ''Dangerous Liaisons'' - it's actually ''[[WeekendAtBernies Weekend At Bernie's]]''. She also keeps steamy romance novels hidden under the pillow.
* HasAType: Rachel has a thing for doctors in the earliest seasons. The show brings up and then hastily backs away from the revelation that her father is a doctor. Eventually, she ends up with [[spoiler: Ross]], who's NotThatKindOfDoctor.
* HeavySleeper
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Monica.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** She dumps Ross for sleeping with someone else while they were on her poorly defined 'break', (which he fairly enough thought was a break up). When he gets a new girlfriend, she kisses him and tries to have sex with him.
** She gets upset about her sister Jill starting to show interest in Ross, even though she's the one who repeatedly dared her to try getting together with him when Jill initially had no interest.
* InSeriesNickname: Rach.
* ItsAllAboutMe: She's pretty self-absorbed. Examples include trying to crash Ross's wedding even though she'd rejected him barely a season before, stealing Monica and Chandler's engagement night because they were happy and she wasn't, and later forcing them to come to her baby's birthday party even though they'd recently discovered [[spoiler: they couldn't have children]] and ''wanted to take a weekend away to deal with it''.
* ItTastesLikeFeet: TropeNamer, from the incident when she makes a Trifle/Shepherd's Pie in "The One Where Ross Got High".
* LethalChef: Due to some pages of a cookbook sticking together, she bakes a concoction that is half trifle, half shepard's pie.
* LongestPregnancyEver: Lasting from May 2001 to August 2002. And then evoked in-verse, as she's two weeks overdue, and spends nearly 24 consecutive hours in labor.
* LovableAlphaBitch: She was TheCheerleader in high school, and had several former classmates show up and mention just how horrible she was, but was friends with the unpopular Monica. She still retains some traits of this as an adult.
* LoveMakesYouDumb: Although it wasn't really love, just attraction, but Rachel totally makes a fool of herself when she has a crush on Joshua in season 4.
* LoveRevelationEpiphany: With Ross, who she only began to fall in love with after hearing secondhand that he loved her. When she goes to meet him at the airport upon his return from China, she comes face-to-face with his new girlfriend.
* MamaBear: She and Ross freak out when they find out that Amy pierced Emma's ears.
* MsFanservice: In early seasons her nipples are visible through her shirt and she gets [[ToplessnessFromTheBack naked in the apartment]] the night before she and Ross go to Las Vegas (which Ross mistakes for a come-on), as well as being accidentally interrupted in the shower by Chandler.
** Her "New Dress" in the appropriately-titled episode is basically her nightie.
* MySisterIsOffLimits: She does this when Joey tries hitting on Jill.
* NaiveNewcomer: In season 1.
--> '''Monica:''' Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're going to love it.
* NeverMyFault: She blamed Ross for everything that went wrong in their relationship. She even tried to get him to sign a document that said so.
* NotAMorningPerson: When she was stuck in Joey's bedroom during the apartment switch in season 4, she gets more than a little annoyed with the singing guy in the next building over waking her up every morning by singing. Needless to say, when Joey returned at the end of the episode, he joined in the singing.
* ObliviousToLove: To Ross in season 1, to Joey in season 8 and to Gunther until ''the last episode''.
* OneNoteCook: In an episode of season three where, despite the others' doubts, the brownies she makes receive no complaints (and even then, the doubts only came after Phoebe quickly spit hers out, which only came from a painful toothache.) The same can't be said for the rest of her cooking attempts.
* PlayingHardToGet: Rachel plays hard to get with Joshua and with Danny. When Danny misinterprets this and introduces her to one of his friends, she thinks he's playing hard to get.
* PluckyGirl: Thanks to her determination, she becomes a successful career woman.
* RunawayBride: Rachel ran away from her wedding in the pilot. This was the first event in the series and the cause of many problems for her, so it's basically the 'setup' for Rachel's character. It was later revealed that her groom was already cheating on her and an alternate universe episode showed that had she actually married him, the marriage would have been miserable and eventually collapsed due to his infidelity.
* SelectiveObliviousness: For Ross' feelings, and later hers.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Sometimes, her name appears as Rachel Greene.
* SpoiledBrat: In her back story, and has shades of it as an adult. Thanks to CharacterDevelopment she's more...
* SweaterGirl: Not all the time (although this was TheNineties), but enough that it's one of the things Monica mentions to make fun of her.
--> '''Monica:''' ''(mocking)'' "Hi I'm Rachel, is my sweater too tight? No? Oh, I'd better wash it and shrink it!"
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Girly Girl to Monica's Tomboy.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Mainly in her treatment toward Ross, though Phoebe is also a victim to this at times.
* TownGirls: The Femme to Phoebe's Neither and Monica's Butch.
* {{Tsundere}}: Neatly summed up by Monica.
-->'''Monica:''' I'm Rachel. I love Ross! I hate Ross! I love Ross! I hate Ross!
* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: Several times with Ross, and with Joey in season 9.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Ross.
* UpperClassTwit: In earlier seasons when she was still recovering from her spoiled upbringing.
* WellDoneDaughterGal
-->''"You hear that, guys? My Dad's proud of me!"''
* WhiteSheep: Though she's no saint, Rachel at least has several redeeming features compared to her parents and sisters, a lot of it coming from the CharacterDevelopment she went through making it on her own over the course of the show. Lampshaded with her sister Jill, who was just as spoiled and vain as Rachel was in the beginning, she was similarly cut off by their father and told to go learn something from "the one daughter he's proud of."
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Has a childhood fear of swings because she had an incident at 4 where her hair got stuck in the swing chain and she hat to cut off her hair, making it uneven.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: {{Exaggerated|Trope}}, between her and Ross. It lasts almost ''the entire series''.
* YaoiFangirl: In one episode when she reveals that she had a sexual fantasy dream involving a threesome with Chandler and Joey, she notes that at some of the points, she was merely a spectator watching the two of them getting busy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Monica E. Geller]]
-->Creator/CourteneyCox
[[quoteright:206:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sx_6290.jpg]]

-->'''Chandler:''' "It's okay, you don't have to be the best at everything."
-->'''Monica:''' "Oh my God! You don't know me at all!"

The much-needed TeamMom of the gang, Monica can be somewhat neurotic and obsessive, but puts it all to good use in her job as a chef and keeping the gang fed. She was fat in high school, which is still a source of shame for her and struggles with her parents' ParentalFavoritism of Ross. She eventually falls in love with Chandler and the two build the stable relationship of the show.

* EightiesHair: In the earlier seasons. Though it was one of the few styles (bangs) that managed to remain well into the mid-90's.
* {{Adorkable}}: When it comes to cleaning. Or her label maker. Or making lists. Though she's very attractive in a non-geeky, non-dorky way and is a classic beauty.
* BerserkButton:
** Mostly involving tidiness.
** Anytime there's a competition, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
* BetaCouple: With Chandler.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Archie to Chandler's Betty and Richard's Veronica.
* BigEater: She was shown to be like this as a child, most likely related to her numerous compulsive tendencies. Her parents were even once shown asking her to eat excess Thanksgiving leftovers when they ran out of space in the fridge and the show presented this as a typical request.
* {{Bridezilla}}: And at Phoebe's wedding, ''Maid-of-Honor''-zilla.
* BrainyBrunette: Being the mature TeamMom, she has more common sense than [[UpperClassTwit Rachel]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Phoebe]] who are both blonde.
* CatchPhrase:
** '''I KNOW!'''
** Her hyper-chipper "OKAY!" when all gets resolved.
** Her {{Big No}}s are fairly epic.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Rachel, though they lost contact after high school.
* CompetitionFreak: Particularly from season 5 onwards.
-->'''Chandler:''' You know how competitive you get, and while I say it's cute, others disagree and I'm lying.
* ControlFreak: Could easily be the TropeCodifier. Especially after {{Flanderization}}.
* CuteBruiser: Monica is the shortest of the main characters but she's very strong and tough.
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Her parents dislike Chandler initially because they think he smoked pot (actually Ross did). They warm up to him though and thank him for 'taking on Monica'. They also disapprove of her relationship with Richard, not because they don't like ''him'' (he's their best friend), they just don't like him with their daughter.
* DeadpanSnarker: Sometimes, but less so than Chandler, Ross, Rachel or even Phoebe.
* {{Determinator}}: When Monica wants something, nothing will stop her.
* FatBestFriend: To Rachel, in their high school days.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: Inverted. Monica is a professional chef, but she - especially post-{{Flanderization}} -- is feisty, loud, competitive and downright domineering, especially with Chandler. By the last seasons she was probably the ''least'' feminine of the girls. In ''The One With Rachel's Sister'' Monica bought a different set of wedding china than the ones Chandler picked out, because in her words, the ones Chandler picked out were "too feminine."
* TheFinickyOne: Obsessed with cleanliness, controlling over even the most simple of past times and known to fits of neurotics when the slightest thing is out of place.
* {{Flanderization}}: Her neatness, bossiness and competitiveness.
* FormerlyFat: Former TropeNamer.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Choleric
* GirlNextDoor: More so in early seasons, as she becomes bossier post-flanderization.
* GenreSavvy: She knows that it's a bad idea for Chandler to get advice from Ross and Joey, as they never had a successful relationship.
* GoGetterGirl: An adult version of a hard-working woman who strives to be perfect in every respect.
* HappilyMarried: To Chandler in the last three seasons. They face a lot of external problems in their early marriage but remain supremely happy and clearly adore each other.
* TheHeart: Ross even called her "the glue that holds the group together"
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Rachel.
* HollywoodDateless: At times, she can pick up guys easily but struggles finding men who want a serious relationship.
* HotBlooded: She shares this trait with her brother Ross, as they are both fierce, energetic, and passionate.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: A pretty common theme about her relationship with Chandler, as she could be pretty domineering with him, but was fiercely loyal the instant anyone else bothered him. Best seen while getting their photos for their wedding announcement and Chandler is failing miserably.
-->'''Monica''': This photo is supposed to say "Geller and Bing to be Married," not "Local Woman Saves Drowning Moron."
-->'''Monica''': (After photographer laughs.) Don't laugh at him, he's my drowning moron!
* IAmNotMyFather: Or mother in her case. Determined not to end up like [[AbusiveParents Judy]].
* InformedDeformity: Fat Monica. From the way everybody on the show talks, you'd think she was a two ton blimp. She's notably larger than average, but not ''that big'' (mildly obese, at most).
* InformedJudaism: The Gellers' religious affiliation isn't clear until season 7, when Ross appears as the Holiday Armadillo, and then the only other mention is three seasons later, when Chandler has to remind Monica [[ItMakesSenseInContext she can't be a minister]] because she's Jewish. Considering the care she gives to decorating the Christmas tree, we might not have known. WordOfGod has said in the past that Jack Geller is Jewish, whilst Judy is not.
* InSeriesNickname: Mon.
* JerkassBall: Grabs it in “The One With Phoebe's Wedding”, where Phoebe gets justifiably tired of her {{control freak}}ing the wedding rehearsal. She never says sorry, gloats when Phoebe freaks out at having to do everything on her own wedding day, and Phoebe has to beg her to come back.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: With Joey in later seasons.
* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Seeks to avert this. Judy emotionally abuses her in the same way her grandmother abused Judy. As Monica's aware of this, adores children and is [[TeamMom generally kind-hearted]], it's implied she'll break the cycle.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Masculine Girl to Chandler's Feminine Boy.
* MayDecemberRomance: The big conflict of Monica's relationship with Richard is not only that he's older, but that he's her father's best friend and has known Monica since she was a kid. As a panicked Monica points out when she begins to fall for Richard, "I used to pee in your pool!"
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She has a pretty slender, wiry build in the present day but is frequently implied to be "freakishly strong" and underestimates her own strength. She's able to easily subdue a panicky Rachel while trying to put drops in her eyes, gives back massages that border on torture, and after a painful handshake with her, Phoebe comments that she's [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar glad she's not Chandler.]] According to Ross, the only person in the group stronger than her is Joey.
* MyBelovedSmother: When she gets caught up in the moment of her adopted boy being born, she tells him she's gonna love him so much no woman will ever measure up to her.
* NeatFreak: She can't sleep after she willingly leaves her shoes in the living room in order to prove she's not as much a NeatFreak as everybody thinks. Everybody's right, of course. Also, she vacuums her vacuum cleaner with a smaller one, and wishes for an even smaller one to clean the second.
* NerdNanny: Unless it's a subject she is nerdy about.
* NerdsLoveToughSchoolwork: Which shows up when she accompanies Phoebe to night school.
* NiceGirl: Despite her faults she's genuinely kind-hearted.
* ObliviousToLove: Its hinted that Chandler had a crush on her before they got together, but she thinks any offers to be her boyfriend are jokes. She also needs Phoebe to clue her in about Richard's interest, though she sees through Pete's pretenses better.
* OnlySaneWoman: In earlier seasons, pre-flanderization.
-->(after getting made fun of one too many times for dating Richard's son)
-->"Fine, judge all you want to, but (points to Ross) married a lesbian, (Rachel) left a guy at the altar, (Phoebe) fell in love with a gay ice dancer, (Joey) threw a girl's wooden leg into a fire, (Chandler-in-a-box) [[ItMakesSenseInContext LIVE IN A BOX!]] *storms out*
* ThePerfectionist: Especially in later seasons when Flanderization set in.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: The smallest main character and yet still able to wrestle down her much larger brother and win.
* PluckyGirl: Not as much as either Phoebe or Rachel, but she has her moments though.
* RedOniBlueOni: Oddly enough both. She's the Red to Chandler's Blue, but is often the Blue to Rachel's Red.
* TheReliableOne
* SecondLove: Third to Chandler after Janice and Kathy.
* SecretRelationship: With Chandler for almost an entire season.
* ShipperOnDeck: She supports Ross and Rachel obviously as they are her brother and her best friend, though her enthusiasm (as with most of the others) fades as the series and their on-off again relationship continues. She also ships Ross/Emily at one point.
* SiblingRivalry: Sometimes with Ross. Apparently they were ''much'' more competitive during their childhood, particularly over football.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Monica dated the Badass from her high school days and got to ride his motorcycle... but he hadn't ever grown out of that old persona and still lived with his parents, so she relished dumping him. Her first two serious boyfriends were Richard and Pete who both fit the "Nice Guy" stereotype pretty well. She ended up with her friend Chandler who was a nice guy too.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Monica is usually a tool for physical comedy, such as hitting her eye and wearing a patch, getting her hair caught in a shower curtain, wearing agony-inducing boots, and getting stuck in a bean bag chair during her "fat days."
* SuperOCD: Panics at the sight of even the slightest messes and strives to have everything neat and organized. In fact, when Ross told her that his date had every inch of her house messy, Monica told her she couldn't sleep thinking about it and asked if she could clean her house for free.
* SupremeChef: Of course, she loves cooking and is a professional chef.
* TeamChef: She's a professional chef, so it's no surprise that she's always the one to make the food when there's a celebration.
* TeamMom: Ironically, Monica is the second youngest of the group. Though [[BerserkButton it wouldn't be wise to call her that]]... as Chandler found out.
* {{Tomboy}}: Monica is domineering, loud and hot-tempered and has a MasculineGirlFeminineBoy relationship with Chandler. She also likes sports including football and is the most strong and athletic of the six friends, along with Joey.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy to Rachel's Girly Girl. And briefly to Janine as well.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: She loves cleaning and cooking, and is obsessed with weddings.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Her bossiness and obsessive compulsive behavior gradually shot UpToEleven in later seasons.
* TownGirls: The Butch to Phoebe's Neither and Rachel's Femme.
* TheUnfavorite: Often criticized by her mother, Judy, the same way Judy had been criticized by her own mother. Also, both parents favored Ross, which their dad tries to rectify (seemingly successfully, judging by the reaction) by giving Monica his Porsche.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: "Don't laugh! He's MY drowning moron!"
* WellDoneDaughterGirl: As a result of being TheUnfavorite. A later episode has her father affirming he's proud of her but we never get such a scene with her mother. (Who was the worse of the two). However its hinted Monica gets over [[{{Jerkass}} Judy's]] behavior, as she's HappilyMarried and a very successful head chef and her mother's favoritism of Ross (with three divorces and two illegitimate children) seems pathetic rather than hurtful.
* WomenPreferStrongMen: Inverted. She specifically breaks up with Pete because he's obsessed with becoming the Ultimate Fighting Champion and tells Chandler straight up she doesn't care how strong he is because she loves his inner strength instead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Phoebe Buffay]]
-->Creator/LisaKudrow
[[quoteright:192:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phoebebuffay1_5264.jpg]]

--> "I remember when I first came to this city. I was fourteen. My mom had just killed herself and my step-dad was back in prison, and I got here, and I didn't know anybody... then I found aromatherapy. So I know exactly how you feel."

Phoebe is the group's {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who has a bit of a dark past: her biological mother left her and her sister with her biological father and adoptive mother, her biological father walked out on her, her adoptive mother died, her stepfather was sent to prison, and she spent some time on the street before finding a stable job (as a masseuse) and roommate (Monica), before eventually moving in with her grandmother. She plays the guitar (badly) and sings (badly) at Central Perk, and exhibits traits of ThePollyanna.

* AfraidOfNeedles: In one episode she and Rachel decide to get tattoos, but Phoebe backs out at the last moment when she realizes it's actually done with needles.
* AgentMulder
* AmbiguouslyBi: Or BiTheWay. She has shown attraction to women a number of times. See the [[HoYay/{{Friends}} Ho Yay page]], for examples.
* BadassAdorable: She may be lovable and quirky, but do not underestimate her street badass side. Phoebe is a totally tough girl when she wants to be.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Archie to Mike's Betty and David's Veronica.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: She may seem like a sweet GranolaGirl with a kooky sense of humor, but she was tough enough to mug older boys when she was just a teen living on the street.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Late in the series, especially in that episode where she and Monica try to break up and fire, respectively, a guy, but the first one to do so is the bitch. Monica rehires him but Phoebe doesn't take him back. She's also pretty horrible to Ross and Chandler (Monica's boyfriend and later husband) including introducing Monica to her "soulmate" while being well aware of Chandler's rampant insecurities.
* BrutalHonesty: She can be quite rude and blunt to her friends.
* CainAndAbel: The Abel to Ursula's Cain.
* CatchPhrase: "Oh ''no''."
* CharacterDevelopment: Though her changes were late in the series, Phoebe eventually decides that she needs to hunker down and be in a serious relationship instead of having one night stands with random guys. This eventually leads Phoebe to getting married and becoming happy that she finally has something normal in her life.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: One of her defining traits.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: One of the most well known examples.
-->'''Phoebe''': Phoebe Buffay. P as in Phoebe, H as in hoebe, O as in oebe, E as in ebe, B as in bee-bee and E as in... Ello there mate!
* CovertPervert: Initially, when her "innocence" was more genuine. Then it became less covert and more just part of her character that she was kinky, frequently sharp tongued and kind of mean.
* CuteBruiser: Easily the best fighter of the girls (even more so than the supposedly strong Monica) and arguably of the entire group, as proven in several episodes like "The One After the Super Bowl" when she breaks off the CatFight between Rachel and Monica by grabbing their ears. She lived on the street, after all.
-->'''Phoebe''': Okay, now I'm gonna kick some ass!
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Already had a troubled family life before having to live in the streets when she was 14.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mostly in later seasons, she can be ''incredibly'' bitchy and snarky.
* TheDitz:
-->'''Phoebe''': I got a call at two in the morning, but all I could hear was, like, this high squeaky sound, so I thought, okay it's, like, a mouse or a possum. But then I realized, like, okay, where would a mouse or a possum get the money to make the phone call?
* DreadfulMusician: To some, but she's mostly more of a Dreadful Songwriter.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: "Hey, I didn't have my license taken away because I drive carefully. Haha."
* DumbBlonde: Though she's more streetwise than most of the other characters, despite her ditziness.
* DysfunctionalFamily: A fierce competitor with Chandler, given her dad ran away, her mom killed herself, her twin hates her, grandma was weird, and then she met a half-brother who married a much older teacher.
* EvilTwin: Has one in Ursula.
* EruditeStoner: She started that way, and somewhere down the line became an ex-criminal Ditz.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Sanguine
* GiftedlyBad: With her songs.
* GoodBadGirl: She tends to reveal many unexpected sexual escapades at the most random times, until season 9 when she started dating Mike.
* GoToAlias: She often uses the name Regina Phalange when she doesn't want to use her real name.
* GranolaGirl: More in earlier seasons.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Played with. She has both a wide-eyed look on the world similar to a child's, but certainly isn't innocent.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Not often, but it comes up now and then. When she went to a charity event, her idea of helping the kids was to ''drain the bar'' so the kids wouldn't drink it.
* HeadTiltinglyKinky: Some of her humor derives from the fact her sexual practices have no boundaries.
* HiddenDepths:
** She spoke to Joey's grandmother in Italian. Even Phoebe was unaware of her skill.
** She knows French... from learning it in a street corner with some other people, presumably.
** She demonstrates her knowledge of wines when Rachel's father berates a waiter for serving the '74 Lafite instead of the '75, then storms off.
--> '''Rachel:''' In case you didn't notice, that is a scary man.
--> '''Phoebe:''' He's right, though. The '74 is absolute piss.
* HypocrisyNod: One episode has Phoebe receiving a fur coat, even though she's the first one of the six to be for animal rights, and despite her initial reluctance she quickly starts wearing it and loves it. Then she suddenly runs across a squirrel that's staring at her, leading her to admit she's gone against everything she stood for and throw the coat away.
* InsaneTrollLogic: She thrives on this! For example, in "The One With The Cat", she tries to justify her belief that a stray cat is the reincarnated spirit of her mother by explaining that her guitar case is lined with orange felt. Her mom's favorite fish, meanwhile, was orange ruffy. Cats like fish. Soooooooooooo....
* InSeriesNickname: Pheebs, though she didn't get it for a while.
-->'''Phoebe:''' ''(to Rachel)'' Oh, Pheebs.
-->'''Rachel:''' Honey, that's your name.
-->'''Phoebe:''' That is short for Phoebe? I thought that's just what we called each other.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's far from a bad person and obviously loves her friends, but she definitely has a mean streak and can be downright bitchy and rude in later episodes.
* LargeHam: Sometimes. Helps she's enthusiastic and prone to yelling.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: She seems to act as this to the rest of the group, as well as in most of her relationships. Notably, the group occasionally finds her actions annoying or intrusive, and in the 10th season, Phoebe admits that she has never been in a relationship which lasted more than a month. Occasionally, being an ManicPixieDreamGirl seems to actively work against her, such as the first time she was ready to move in with a man, and then broke up with him shortly after when he impulsively shot a bird with his handgun. On another occasion, she ends a relationship because her boyfriend is even more of a Manic Pixie Dream Guy than she is, and she can't stand him.
* MetaGirl: Not exactly [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]], but was always the one to point out the show's cliches, like the amount of GayPanic jokes Chandler makes or the FirstWorldProblems Rachel has with Ross.
* MultipleChoicePast: {{Lampshaded}}.
--> '''Rachel''': How have you never been on [[TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]]?
* [[MySisterIsOffLimits My Brother Is Off Limits]]: When her younger half-brother gets engaged to his old elementary school teacher, she becomes a little concerned. She tries to "help him" by breaking her brother up with his fiancée. Unfortunately, the breakup leads to her brother becoming depressed.
* NiceGirl: Mostly in earlier seasons before [[TookALevelInJerkass she became more of a bitch]] by the end of the series.
* TheNotLoveInterest: To Joey. Also a FanPreferredCouple and often hinting about potentially being together in a future. Besides some isolated kisses, they never actually dated, never had sex and in fact Joey ends up introducing Phoebe to her husband to-be.
* OppositesAttract: With Mike.
* ParentalAbandonment: has lost more parents than most people ''have'': her birth mother leaves, her biological father walked out on them, her adoptive mother died, and her adoptive mother's second husband was in jail... And, as the page quote reminds us, all this happened before she was 15.
* PingPongNaivete: Since she's frequently shown to be quite clever, quick-witted and StreetSmart, you may think that all her moments of ditzy idiocy are just ObfuscatingStupidity.
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Joey.
* ThePollyanna: Very cheerful and upbeat, despite her DarkAndTroubledPast.
* PsychicPowers: Implied and PlayedForLaughs. During one pre opening credits scene, everyone's thoughts are given voiceovers. Joey's thoughts are a random tune. Phoebe's thoughts ask "Who's singing?"
* ReallyGetsAround: Almost at Joey's level. She tends to reveal many unexpected sexual escapades at the most random times, until season 9 when she started dating Mike.
* RunningGag: "Regina Phalange." [[spoiler: Even acts as a ChekhovsGun so that Ross can say good-bye to Rachel in the season finale.]]
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Energetic Girl to Mike's Savvy Guy.
* ShipperOnDeck:
** She clearly is a Ross/Rachel shipper. According to her, Ross is Rachel's "lobster" (The person you are supposed to be with the rest of your life). Even when they aren't dating she's always the first to believe that they have still feelings for each other (in season 6 and again in season 9) and she's also the one who drives Ross to the airport, to convince Rachel to stay, in the last episode.
** Inverted when it comes to Chandler/Monica. Possibly because she doesn't seem a big fan of Chandler in later seasons. She even tried to introduce Monica to her "soulmate" when she was already married to Chandler! This could be due to being a GreenEyedMonster as she's realizing she wants a committed relationship and is jealous of how happy Monica and Chandler are together.
-->'''Phoebe''' (When she finds out that Chandler and Monica are together): I think it's great! ...For him. She might be able to do better.
* SoapboxSadie: Often rails against cruelty to animals and preservation of nature but she sometimes falls short.
* StreetSmart: She is not well educated and lacks knowledge in other areas but she spent some of her childhood on the street and gained a lot of knowledge from it.
* StreetUrchin: From the age of 14.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Towards the end, she was absolutely ''horrible'' to both Chandler and Ross.
* TownGirls: The Neither to Rachel's Femme and Monica's Butch.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ross and Chandler, especially in later seasons. But while Ross seems to enjoy their squabbling, Chandler - despite being the DeadpanSnarker - rarely bites back, hinting he's not that comfortable with her remarks.
* WeirdAside
* WeirdnessMagnet: Having the ghost of an old woman possess her, being chased around a junkyard by a psychotic, being stalked by men who mistake her for her twin sister, Ursula, and having her apartment haunted by her grandmother.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: With Chandler in later seasons.
** Possibly lamsphaded by Chandler in season 10, when Phoebe and Monica have a fight.
--> '''Monica''': We are not friends with Phoebe anymore.
--> '''Chandler''': If she asks, I protested a little, but okay!
* WomenPreferStrongMen: While she has dommy qualities herself, she made it clear that she wasn't a big fan of soft/sissy guys and got the most hot for Mike when he was beating Monica at ping-pong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani]]
-->Matt [=LeBlanc=]
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images34_2398.jpg]]

-->''If the package is this pretty, no-one cares what's inside.''

TheCasanova of the gang, a laid-back Italian womanizer, Joey is Chandler's best friend and roommate, and often the group's comic relief. He tries to make a living as an actor. Later seasons turned him into a [[TheDitz ditz]]. He ended up with his own spinoff, which was cancelled very soon after.

* AloneAmongTheCouples: He ends up as this in the last episode. [[spoiler:But he gets a LoveInterest in the Series/{{Joey}} spinoff.]]
* AmbiguouslyBi: One of the flashback episodes had a whole montage of these moments with Chandler.
* BadBadActing: Most of his in-series acting is either this or [[LargeHam overacting]].
* BadLiar: One of the subplots of "The One With Rachel's Other Sister" is about him being a terrible liar and Phoebe teaching him how to lie.
* BerserkButton:
** '''"JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!"'''
** Do not lie to Joey, especially if you are his best friend. It happens quite a few times with Chandler.
* BetterAsFriends: With Rachel.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He's very protective of his seven sisters. He also acts like this towards all his friends, particularly the three girls.
* BigEater: In one episode he volunteers to eat a whole Thanksgiving turkey, which doesn't mean he'll stop eating until then. (He calls it "warming up.") Another episode involving Phoebe's birthday dinner at a nice restaurant. Over the course of the episode, everyone, including Phoebe, leaves for other activities... except Joey. He's bummed at first, but lights up when all of the already ordered entrees arrive.
* BookDumb: But street smart and friend savvy. At least that's how the [[InformedAbility writers viewed him]].
* BrainlessBeauty: A sympathetic one. Even Rachel tells him "Thank God you’re pretty" in one episode.
* TheCasanova: He's successful with women, and is seen dating and sleeping with many different girls in various episodes. In fact, women are his biggest obsession along with food.
* CatchPhrase: "How ''you'' doin'?"
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the original Series there's a running joke about him being a terrible actor who constantly has to lie on his resume (Phoebe once told him that one of the casting directors said they had never heard a more fake Italian accent from someone of Italian origins). In the spinoff Series/{{Joey}} is seen as a much more competent actor.
** In the pilot, he was a bit of a {{Jerkass}} and more of a HandsomeLech. Beginning in the second episode, he's the lovable goof we all know and love.
* ChivalrousPervert: Joey is this when it comes to his female friends. He hits on them on numerous occasions and tries several ploys to either see them naked or see them kiss each other, but he's kind, fiercely loyal and incredibly respectful towards them. When everyone believes Phoebe's been in a porno movie, Joey is the only member of the gang who refuses to watch it. He also freaks out quite a bit when Rachel calls his bluff and actually offers to sleep with him. Upon hearing Phoebe was pregnant, he goes out to beat up the supposed father... then comes back and proposes to Phoebe so she won't be alone. Later when he finds Rachel is the one who is actually pregnant, he promptly proposes to her too. In one episode, when a drunken Rachel responds favorably to his "How you doin'?" line, he tells Ross not to let her drink any more.
* TheDitz: Especially in later seasons. Joey's ditziness especially shines through in the subject of [[GlobalIgnorance geography]] - at various points in the series he has thought that the Netherlands was where Peter Pan lives, described Chandler's "going to Yemen" ruse for getting rid of Janice as clever because "it almost sounds like a real place", and gone to the bank to try changing dollars into "Vermont money".
* DumbIsGood: Despite his stupidity, he's regularly shown to be a nice and caring friend toward the other five.
* DumbassHasAPoint: Often. For example, in one episode, he pointed out, when everyone (except Phoebe, who was usually self-employed) wondered why their bosses hated them, that they were in a coffee shop at 11:30 a.m on a Wednesday.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Rachel's little incident of ItTastesLikeFeet mentioned above? Yeah, didn't bother him in the slightest. He actually ate everyone else's slices.
--->"What's not to like. Custard? Good. Jam? Good. Meat? ''Good''."
* {{Flanderization}}: His eating habits and [[TookALevelInDumbass lack of intelligence]], particularly his ManChild behavior. For instance, early in the show, he knows what an Adam's apple is. Later in the series, Chandler has to tell him it's not a "Joey's apple" as it's not named after every individual.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Joey adopted a baby chick when he was depressed about Kate leaving, and Chandler and him raised both the chick and the rooster like parents for years afterwards.
* GiftedlyBad: With his acting skills.
* GratuitousItalian: Kind of. Chandler says Joey "only knows the swear words" of Italian.
* HandsomeLech: His treatment of potential female roommates borders on stalking. He views the single women of New York as sexual conquests and not much else (he's never abusive, he's just... very, ''very'' shallow). According to [[=LaBlanc=]] on a Gaby Roslin interview, he wasn't a great fan of the more lecherous moments, as he felt like Joey had to be sweeter than that otherwise it'd make no sense why the girls would view him as a friend.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Chandler.
* HiddenDepths:
** In "The one with the Kips," he shows his strange knowledge of elevators.
** He also knew how to turn off the radiator in Monica and Rachel's apartment after they broke the handle off. Might not seem like a big deal, but nobody else on hand knew what to do.
** He's a fantastic, if careless craftsman, though it's only shown in one episode, "The One With Frank Jr." where he built a giant entertainment centre for his and Chandler's apartment and did such a good job of tiling Monica's bathroom that, even with all her super OCD, she called "beautiful". The carelessness comes in when he almost lobotomises Chandler with an electric drill and builds the entertainment centre too big for the wall.
** In "The One With Russ," it's revealed that he relieves stress by cooking spaghetti sauce.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He was furious when Chandler kissed his girlfriend, Kathy, even though he was cheating on her with another girl. Somewhat justified in that Joey said he never would have kissed a girl that Chandler was dating. (although Joey seemed more upset that [[HeterosexualLifePartners Chandler]] kissed Kathy behind his back rather than the fact that Kathy had feelings for another guy).
* ICallHimMisterHappy: The Little General - formerly Little Major, but it earned a promotion after Denise [=DeMarco=].
* KindheartedSimpleton
* LadykillerInLove: As short-lived as it was, his crush on Rachel in season 8 was genuine. He also develops real feelings for Phoebe's twin Ursula in season 1, his co-star Kate in season 3, and his new roommate Janine in season 6.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: With Monica in later seasons, when she marries his HeterosexualLifePartner Chandler.
* LogicalFallacies: Joey naturally falls into this a lot.
-->'''Joey''': You hid my clothes?! Well...I'm going to do the exact opposite!
-->'''Chandler''': ...You're going to show me my clothes?
** Which is pretty much what he does. [[spoiler: By wearing every pair of clothes Chandler owns.]]
* LovableSexManiac: He talks openly and often about his many, many sexual conquests, at one point admitting to deflowering an intern on the set of his television show. His love of pornography is also the target of numerous jokes.
* ManChild: He constantly mooches off Chandler (with everything from rent payments to acting classes), he refuses to maintain a steady romantic relationship even when he's well into his mid/late-30's, and he's hopelessly idealistic about his acting career despite clearly being a pretty lousy actor.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: He has seven sisters.
* TheMcCoy: To Chandler's TheKirk and Ross's TheSpock.
* TheNotLoveInterest: To Phoebe and Chandler.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Joey or Joe. In the latter case, it's usually Chandler being sarcastic. Phoebe does call him by his full name when he blows her off one night. Another instance is when he is sitting at the coffehouse brainstorming for a new stage surname with Chandler. They always use Joseph, not Joey. He finally likes one of Chandler's suggestions ([[spoiler:[[DeadpanSnarker Stalin]]]]), but it fails to impress the crew in his next audition.
* OutnumberedSibling: He comes from a family of eight children, where he is the only male.
* PapaWolf: He can be very protective of his friends. In "The One With The Red Sweater", Phoebe tells him that she's pregnant (when actually Rachel was), and that the father wants nothing to do with her or the baby.
-->'''Joey''': Well who is this guy?! Huh? Who is he? ‘Cause I will track him down and kick his ass!
-->'''Phoebe''': David Lynn.
-->'''Joey''': David Lynn! David Lynn! David Lynn!! (Exits)
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Phoebe.
* ThePornomancer: Possibly the most famous modern pornomancer. Despite not having any magical skills (or intelligence) of note, he rarely needs to utter more than "Hey. How you doin'?" before scoring.
* {{Pride}}: He is very proud of his past role as Dr. Drake Ramoray and after that, sometimes believes to be too good for being treated as a normal actor, he has already lost a job out of denying to have a small role, he refused to believe a very shady movie wasn't his big break, and in "TOW Rachel's Assistant" he refuses to audittion to come back to 'Days of Our Lives', believing he should have the part automaticaly.
* ReallyGetsAround: Big time. Best demomstrated when Chandler wants to ask advice for a sexual problem, and rhetorically asks, "Joey...you've had a lot of sex, right?" Joey replies, "Today? Some...not a lot."
* RomanticFalseLead: On at least two occasions: first with Chandler and Kathy, then later with Ross and Charlie.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Manly Man to Chandler's Sensitive Guy.
* SexGod: He is sometimes portrayed as an extremely satisfying lover.
* ShipperOnDeck: A hardcore one for Chandler/Monica as he helps hide their relationship for months, officiates at their wedding and tells Chandler that they're perfect for each other and going to be together forever.
* SmartBall: Once in a while, he can be inexplicably cunning, fire off weird but practical knowledge or think brilliantly outside the box, and then go right back to being a ditz, sometimes in the same sentence. Joey was also the ''only'' one in the group to figure out on his own that Ross had a thing for Rachel. (Chandler being Ross's confidant and the girls finding out when the secret was blown). He was also the only one to figure out on his own that Chandler and Monica were together (Rachel accidentally heard them having phone sex, and Phoebe and Ross saw them having sex).
* SupremeChef: While he's been shown making a few errors (such as being unable to flip flapjacks well) he's been shown to pretty decent cook in his own right on occasion, with "TOW the Cooking Class," even hinting that he could potentially be good enough to rival ''Monica''.
* TookALevelInDumbass: He seems to have lost quite a few IQ points over the years, to the point where in the final season he can't tell left from right.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Most Italian dishes, especially meatball sub sandwiches, lasagna, and the "Joey Special."[[note]]Two pizzas.[[/note]]
* UnEntendre: He can make anything sound dirty, including "Grandma's chicken salad."
* YuriFan: Is the most likely one to suggest that GirlOnGirlIsHot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chandler Muriel Bing]]
-->Matthew Perry
[[quoteright:213:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_4657.jpg]]

-->''I'm not so good with the advice. Could I interest you in a sarcastic comment?''

The group's DeadpanSnarker. Not much is known about his work, most likely because it only seems to involve data entry and accounting. His dad runs an all-male burlesque called "Viva Las Gaygas". His mom is a world-famous erotic romance novelist. Neither fact sits well with him; both fuel his neuroses. He eventually falls in love with Monica, and they build a rare stable relationship within the gang.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: [[BeamMeUpScotty Only occasionally]], but when he does... could he BE more of an example?
* {{Adorkable}}: Chandler often wears vests and suits. He makes awkward jokes and is very insecure. He makes up for a fight with Monica by expressing his feelings for her through a dictionary definition. When she asks him how he got so cute, he says his grandfather was Swedish and his other grandfather was a tiny little bunny, which gives him bonus points in cuteness.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Monica's previous boyfriends, especially Richard. Given that he'd idolized Richard, and her other ex-boyfriends included millionaire Pete, TheAce Allan and Fun Bobby, his insecurity is understandable. Thanks to his strong relationship with Monica, he overcomes many of his confidence issues, except for being a SadClown: "Being funny is all I have!"
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: It's hard to beat telling people how you got your son his first condoms on ''The Tonight Show''. "And then he burst into flames."
* AmbiguouslyBi: Loved women and Monica, but had the most EvenTheGuysWantHim moments, was teased the most for acting gay, was deeply protesting constantly and has made out with both Ross and a crossdressing man while drunk. Plus in "TOW The Superbowl", after Phoebe sings her NoBisexuals song, he notices a kid smiling at him knowingly and ends the scene sulking. Chandler was originally meant to be gay, but the writers dropped the idea when Matthew Perry was cast. He's also a huge fan of romantic comedies, knowledge of celebrities (which makes Rachel suggest he watches less E! and more ESPN) and once started a sentence with "If I was a guy..."
-->'''Chandler''': What is it about me? Is it my hair?
-->'''Rachel:''' Yes, Chandler, that's exactly what it is. It's your hair.
-->'''Phoebe:''' Yeah, you have homosexual hair.
* BetaCouple: With Monica.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Betty to Richard's Veronica for Monica's Archie.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: For the most part his jokes might hurt feelings sometimes but they're not meant with malice. But in “The One Where Ross Finds Out”, where Monica has been driving him crazy with all the training, he makes her stop by 'innocently' pointing out every shitty thing that had happened to her recently and how depressed she must feel. He even warns her beforehand to not make him do anything he'll regret.
** Later on, in TOW Rachel's Other Sister, Chandler is genuinely hurt that Ross wouldn't consider him a good parent to Emma if he and Rachel died without Monica around due to the perception that he makes jokes all the time and wouldn't put his foot down. When Rachel and her sister Amy get into a cat fight and break one of Monica's fancy plates, Chandler proves Ross wrong and calls them both out for acting childish, and makes them apologize to Monica and each other.
* BoardingSchool: Reveals he attended an all boys boarding school.
* BoundAndGagged: In "The One With The Cuffs". Being Chandler, he takes a moment to lampshade the CuffsOffRubWrists trope.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Despite being the joker of the gang and rather lazy he's shown to be very capable at his job, being promoted several times (including heading up an office in Tulsa). When he switches to advertising he's good enough to skip several rungs on the career ladder.
* ButtMonkey: A very close second, after Ross.
* CannotKeepASecret: Chandler is pretty much made of this trope, several times during the series he has accidentally revealed his friends secrets. Probably his biggest offense is when he revealed to Rachel that Ross was in love with her. In a final season episode he reveals to a child that they were adopted and then later reveals to Phoebe's nieces and nephew that Phoebe actually gave birth to them.
* CharacterDevelopment: At the beginning, Chandler had serious issues with commitment, which made him incapable of holding a relationship. He eventually overcame them thanks to his relationship with Monica and he was also ready to start a family with her as well.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first few seasons, Chandler is shown to be as rabid a sports fan as Joey is. As the AmbiguouslyBi traits increase in later seasons, this goes away to the point where even ''Rachel'' chides him for not knowing who Paul O'Neill is.[[note]] O'Neill was the popular right fielder for the New York Yankees dynasty at the end of the 90s. [[/note]]
-->'''Rachel''': May I suggest watching a little more ESPN and a little less "E!"?...Seriously, ESPN, just once in the while, have it on in the background.
** He also can't think of a masculine sport on the spot:
-->'''Chandler''': This is like figure skating team all over again!... I mean synchronized swimming!... [[DiggingYourselfDeeper I mean... I mean the balance beam.]] Help me.
-->'''Ross''': FOOTBALL!
-->'''Chandler''': Thank you!
** This was slightly explained away in season four's "The One Where Chandler's In A Box", where he pretends to want to watch the game, but Phoebe tells him he doesn't have to act macho because the other guys weren't there, and he happily watches the parade instead.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: To Joey.
* CommitmentIssues: One of his defining traits. The first four seasons have him freaking out whenever it gets serious with a girl and it's only thanks to Monica's support he copes with their relationship. This is attributed to his unstable upbringing, his parents' horrible divorce and being continually screwed over by the women he does commit to. (Given that, until Monica, every girl he dated during the series cheated on him, and that his parents can't stand to be in the same room together, its hard to judge his fears.)
-->'''Chandler:''' So, I guess this is it.\\
'''Monica:''' What's it?\\
'''Chandler:''' Well, it's over. The thing we had.\\
'''Monica:''' Why?\\
'''Chandler:''' Because, we had a fight. I mean...\\
'''Monica:''' Chandler, you don't just give up after you have a fight. I mean, if you do that you'd never have a relationship lasting longer than... [[EurekaMoment Ohhhhh]].
* CoolLoser: A prominent ButtMonkey, though he takes most of it in stride.
* TheCynic: This mostly stems from both his parents' divorce and [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood his all around crappy childhood]]. He gradually gets better later in the series, [[HappilyMarried largely because of Monica's love and support]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Of legendary proportions; it seems like Chandler can't go a scene without snarking some way - even in situations in which he really shouldn't. It's even exploited in "TOW All the Resolutions," in which he truly takes pains to ''not'' snark as part of his New Year's resolution (and gives up in less than a week).
* DeconfirmedBachelor: Starts out with serious commitment issues but finds he is '[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments happier than he ever thought he could be]]' after falling in love with Monica.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: A specialty of Chandler's, especially around Monica's parents.
--> "I tend to keep talking until somebody stops me."
* DysfunctionalFamily: Part of why he's so quirky is being raised by two AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents, a mom who ReallyGetsAround and writes trashy sex novels, and a dad who became a DragQueen and ran away with the pool boy (on Thanksgiving to make him hate said holiday...).
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Chandler's first name is considered embarrassing, though not so embarrassing that he doesn't use it - which makes sense, because his last name is Bing, and his middle name is...
* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Muriel.
--> '''Ross''': Chandler Muriel Bing...Boy, your parents never gave you a chance did they?
* {{Flanderization}}:
** His effeminacy. In the first season, he liked sports, beer, pizza and Baywatch as much as the other guys but had to fight against the popular misconception that he was gay. By the end, he has two copies of the Annie soundtrack, can identify the film Miss Congeniality through a wall, pretends to watch NFL football while openly admitting he doesn't like it, gets pedicures and has had it revealed that he (accidentally) made out with a guy in college.
** His jokes. He started out as a DeadpanSnarker, but his humour gradually became less deadpan sarcasm and a lot more goofy and immature after a certain point (possibly when he got married). Specifically, his penchant for making jokes when he's uncomfortable gets downgraded to fart noises when he's saying goodbye to Rachel in the penultimate episode.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Phlegmatic
* TheFriendsWhoNeverHang: While the six were inseparable and had love and affection for each other, the two pairs of friends who arguably got along the least were Chandler/Phoebe and Chandler/Rachel, who both seemed to have a lot more interaction with him (Rachel even had sex dreams about him and Joey together) before he started dating Monica. Jokingly played with in regards to Monica; before sleeping together for the first time, Chandler points out that this would probably ruin their friendship forever, to which Monica jokes that they weren't that close to begin with. (BlatantLies as he was closest to her of the three girls, they had a history going back to college and shared secrets and romantic advice. In early seasons, watch how often they're sharing a chair or couch space almost on top of each other.)
* GagPenis: for maybe two hours, between Rachel telling this to the other girls (long story) and Joey ratting him out.
* HappilyMarried: To Monica in the last three seasons.
* HasAType: Enjoys the controlling, domineering type of woman, like he kept ending up with Janice until she annoyed him too much, Joanna had those handcuffs and Julia Roberts's character kinkily manipulated him into a HumiliationConga, plus he had a sweet speech to Monica about it's fine that she was high-maintenance because he liked '...maintaining' her.
* HatesBeingAlone: Hinted to be this. In Season 2 when Joey moves out he's openly distressed and quickly finds a new roommate despite admitting he can afford his apartment by himself. He also worries that all the other Friends will get married and leave him behind, begging to be allowed to come over for holidays when this happens. Given his unstable parents and childhood, the friends were probably the first security he'd ever known.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Oh, so many times. {{Lampshaded}} when he does this when he and Monica go to the drag club his father performs at. One of the workers tells him, "We get it. You're straight."
* HenpeckedHusband: Played with. While Monica often gets her way, it's mostly because they're small issues that Chandler doesn't care about. When it comes to their big decisions (moving in together, the price of the wedding, having a baby etc.) he and Monica have a very balanced dynamic, and there are several occasions when he puts his foot down.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: ''So'' much. Suffers security issues and always believes himself to be inferior to his wife Monica and is no match for her previous love interest, Richard, even after they have been HappilyMarried for ''a year''. Also this part when he and Monica are looking for good qualities in a potential sperm donor:
-->'''Monica''': It's just that when we were asking him all those questions before I just realized I don't care if he's the most perfect guy in the world. He's not you.
-->'''Chandler''': Yeah. He's better!
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Joey. Also with Ross during their college years.
* HiddenDepths: He plays a mean game of ping pong much to Monica's surprise. (Note he was well-aware of this skill. He just didn't tell Monica because he didn't want to do couples tournaments and the like.) It's not just ping pong, judging by the [[{{Calvinball}} kinds of games]] Joey and Chandler play in their apartment Chandler actually is fairly athletic, just not competitive (which is TruthInTelevision, as Matthew Perry is a very skilled tennis player in real life).
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: His parents were never intentionally abusive per se, but his past does come close. When Monica finds out that he's UnableToCry, she tries to make him cry by showing him an album of pictures of his childhood. Plus in a (usually cut out) line from "The One With The Pediatrician", he was apparently molested by his piano teacher.
* HollywoodDateless: Before he starts a relationship with Monica.
* HumiliationConga: Twice. First when he is tricked into wearing a grade school friend's panties with promises of sex in a restaurant bathroom; once there, he strips to said panties, but the "friend" then takes his clothes and runs off, leaving a panty-clad Chandler in the bathroom to be found by Joey and Ross, who take great pleasure in his humiliation. He eventually removes the door from a stall and uses it to cover his unmentionables as he not-so-triumphantly walks through the restaurant and out the door. The second time is somewhat similar: he is hooking up with Rachel's boss and she handcuffs him in her office wearing nothing but a shirt and underwear (his own, this time, if it's any comfort), only to be found by Rachel, who gags him and locks him up again so her boss wouldn't know she was in her office.
* {{Hypocrite}}: A few times in the series he gets annoyed with how immature Joey can sometimes act in spite of the fact that he really isn't all that better.
* HypocrisyNod: He can occasionally make some mean jokes towards his friends but gets upset if one of them does so to him. He brings this up in "The One Where Monica Sings" when Ross makes a remark about him and Chandler tries to remind him that "he can only dish it out."
* IAmNotLeftHanded: As revealed during his table tennis match with Mike, he's fairly good at competitive games, more than enough to keep up with Monica. He just preferred to downplay it because of her ultra-competitive nature.
* IAmNotMyFather: Many of his neuroses stem from worrying he'll end up like his flighty and self-absorbed parents, and mimic their unpleasant marriage. Much of his CharacterDevelopment, especially his relationship with Monica, revolves around getting over these issues.
* InformedDeformity: It's revealed in a flashback that Monica accidentally dropped a knife on his toe and he had to amputate the top of it. We would have no way of knowing prior to this episode.
* InsecureLoveInterest: Concerning Monica. He felt inferior to her ex-boyfriend Richard (his previous idol) and got very worried when Phoebe introduced Monica's 'soulmate', and offered to stand aside for him. Thanks to Monica's reassurances he does get better. Also with previous girlfriends like Janice and Kathy, as much of his SelfDeprecation references his struggles to please women, which he frequently feels dejected about. (Not that he'd [[StepfordSnarker show it]]...)
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Chandler had a Flock of Seagulls haircut in his college days. Also, he once won a Music/VanillaIce look-alike contest.
* InSeriesNickname: Subverted. Joey comes up with a few nicknames but no one uses them.
--> '''Joey''': It's like the end of an era! No more J-Man and Channy!
--> '''Chandler''': Okay, I gotta ask, who calls us that?!
** Chandler also refers to himself as the Chan Chan Man but it doesn't catch on. He was called Skid Marks in the past.
* InTheBlood: Gets severe cold feet right before his wedding because he and Monica were about to become "the Bings", and Bings never had happy marriages.
* TheKirk: To Joey's TheMcCoy and Ross' TheSpock.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Snarkily name-dropped when Rachel {{squee}}s that he has great taste in men.
* LonelyRichKid: The houseboys seemed more dependable than his parents when he was growing up.
* ManChild:
-->'''Monica''': Come on. Why don't you put on the tux and I'll fix you up a nice Martini.
-->'''Chandler''': You know I don't really like Martinis.
-->'''Monica''': Oh. Well, how about a Yoo Hoo with a funny straw?
-->'''Chandler''': Ooh, yum!
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Feminine Boy to Monica's Masculine Girl.
* NiceGuy: In early seasons he's cynical, has CommitmentIssues and can be pretty selfish with a vengeful streak, but is a lot sweeter than he realizes. As the series progresses he [[TookALevelInKindness takes a level in kindness]], though is still very much a DeadpanSnarker.
* NoSocialSkills: More so by the end due to {{flanderization}}. Monica lampshades this in the finale by asking if there's ''any'' social situation he's comfortable with.
* ObliquelyObfuscatedOccupation:
** A SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} happens when Monica is able to say what Chandler's job is (statistical analysis and data reconfiguration)... after he has left it. Chandler lampshades it, of course.
** This trope was also how he and Joey won Rachel and Monica's apartment. Ross asked the question, and...
-->'''Rachel''': Oh, gosh. It has something to do with numbers...
-->'''Monica''': ...And processing...
-->'''Rachel''': He carries a briefcase...
-->'''Ross''': Ten seconds. [[DownToTheLastPlay You need this, or you lose the game.]]
-->'''Monica''': It's, um, it has something to do with transponding.
-->'''Rachel''': Oh! Oh! He’s a transpons... [[PerfectlyCromulentWord transponster]]!
-->'''Monica''': ''That's not even a word!!'' I can get this, I can get this!
-->''(their time runs out)''
* OneHourWorkWeek: Less justified than most of the others, as... [[ObliquelyObfuscatedOccupation whatever it is he does]] looks like a 9-5 office job. Lampshaded in one scene at Central Perk. Chandler's complaining about not being treated well at his job and Joey notes, "Well, maybe it's because you're hanging out here at 11:30 on a Wednesday..."
* OutOfCharacterMoment: "TOW Ross's Teeth" has ''[[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide him]]'' being the manly policing one, and complaining to Joey from episode start that Janine is turning Joe into a woman. Given the amount of times before and after the episode that Chandler's treated like a Virtual Girl by everyone else, it's very hypocritical of him.
* ParentalNeglect: His mother was a famous erotic novelist, his father ran off with the houseboy and he was sent to boarding school. This conversation sums it up nicely:
-->'''Chandler:''' Oh, that’s Parent’s Day, first grade. That’s me with the janitor, Martin.
-->'''Monica:''' Where were your parents?
-->'''Chandler:''' Oh, [[TearJerker they didn't want to come]].
* PungeonMaster: From time to time.
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to Joey, Ross and Monica.
* RunawayFiance: Has a FreakOut before the wedding to Monica and runs off. Played sympathetically because of his CommitmentIssues and he of course came back, but he's not quite let off as Phoebe throws out some WhatTheHellHero comments, Ross really does try to kick his ass when he thinks Chandler's leaving again, and even Monica finds out (from Joey, who chose to voice his disapproval at the altar) and snarks at him a few times.
* SadClown
-->[[LampshadeHanging "Back then, I used humor as a defense mechanism.]] [[HypocriticalHumor Thank God I don't do that anymore."]]
* SecondLove: Third to Monica, after Richard and Pete. Richard's status as Monica's FirstLove is a recurring fear of his, though but Monica makes it very clear she loves him more than Richard.
* SecretRelationship: With Monica for almost an entire season.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Sensitive Guy to Joey's Manly Man.
* SexGod: After some coaching from Monica and Rachel when he dates one of Joey's exes. Later, Monica tells Rachel her new secret boyfriend is the best she ever had.
* SmokingIsCool: Or so he claims.
-->Hey, y'know, I have had it with you guys and your cancer and your emphysema and your heart disease. The bottom line is, smoking is cool, and you know it.
* StepfordSnarker: He openly admits to using sarcasm to hide deep insecurity that developed due to his rather unusual and traumatic childhood. His snarking also grows noticeably worse during painful situations such as Ross and Rachel's break up, his parents visiting or friends leaving.
* TookALevelInBadass: Chandler is referenced as being mediocre in bed a couple times over the course of the early seasons, until the famous scene where Monica gives him a diagram-based crash-course in pleasuring the female body. His girlfriend literally runs across the hall to hug and emphatically thank Monica following their next lovemaking session. Ends up being a good call on Monica's part, as when she and Chandler later enter a relationship she repeatedly describes him as the best sex she's ever had.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Chandler loves Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk; in addition to scenes that explicitly bring it up as a joke, there's also times during the series where he's drinking it without it being a set-up for a punchline.
* TripleNipple: Had a "nubbin" for the first couple of seasons; after it scared off a girl he was trying to date, he got it removed.
* ToughRoom: He's considered to be the funniest character on the show, but his friends find his jokes annoying for most of the time. A little justified for a couple of reasons: One, he makes those jokes '''all the time''' meaning his friend are likely going to get tired of them eventually (indeed they laugh less and lampshade more as time goes on), and Two, he frequently makes his jokes ''about them,'' giving them another reason not to laugh.
* UnableToCry: An episode entitled "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" gave him this CompressedVice, which was somewhat of a retcon because every other time he was considered the most emotional out of the three guys.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: Gives an adorable little speech to Monica about how he doesn't mind that she's "high-maintenance" because he "likes maintaining (her)".
* UnexplainedRecovery: One episode has him making a huge scheme and ending up flying to Yemen to escape his on-again-off-again girlfriend Janice. The next episode does not address how he managed to come back, though one can presume that he simply bought another ticket for a trip back immediately after arriving. Assuming that the return trip cost as much as it did to get there, this means he wasted over $4000 just to get out of dating Janice without having to directly break up with her.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Phoebe in the later seasons.
* UnfortunateNames: "[[EmbarrassingFirstName Chandler]] [[EmbarrassingMiddleName Muriel]] [[EmbarrassingLastName Bing]]. Wow, your parents never even gave you a ''chance'', did they?"
* YourCheatingHeart: [[TheWoobie A constant victim of this]]. All his girlfriends [[EarnYourHappyEnding before Monica]] cheat on him. (Which doesn't do much for his CommitmentIssues.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ross Geller]]
-->David Schwimmer
[[quoteright:196:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images2342_5771.jpg]]

-->''Oh, sure, Ross'll do it. It's not like he has a job or a child or a life of his own - [[HypocriticalHumor no, no, I wanna play!]]''

The nerd of the group, Ross is a HollywoodDateless paleontologist whose wife left him when she realized she was gay. She also turned out to be pregnant, and Ross tries his best to be a good dad to his son Ben. He loves Rachel, but you knew that already, right?

* {{Adorkable}}: Ross is a major dinosaur and science geek and swoops in with dazzling lines like "would you rather burn or freeze to death?" Sometimes it works and ladies like it, but at times he strikes out.
* AfraidOfNeedles: As seen in "The One With the Baby on the Bus"
* AllJewsAreCheapskates: Ross is notoriously cheap.
* AllThereInTheManual: WordOfGod states Ross's middle name is Eustace. The name "Eustace" was written in the original script for one episode of season 1, but the line was cut, so it never actually aired.
* AmicablyDivorced: With Carol. And with Rachel in the last few seasons. Not with Emily, though.
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Rachel after their breakup in season 3.
* BerserkButton:
** '''[[AstronomicZoom "MY SANDWICH?"]]'''
** '''"WE WERE ON A BREAK!"'''
** '''[[MySisterIsOffLimits "GET OFF MY SISTER!"]]''' (This one may have been some fallout from the sandwich incident.)
* BettyAndVeronica:
** The Archie to Rachel's Veronica and Julie's Betty.
** The Archie to Rachel's Betty and Bonnie's Veronica.
* BigBrotherInstinct: See the dramatic explosion above. Also, at Monica and Chandler's wedding, he tells Chandler that if he ever hurts his little sister, he will hunt him down and kick his ass. Of course, since it's [[ButtMonkey Ross]], everyone just starts laughing at him--until he proves that he wasn't kidding when he lays Chandler flat out and tells him "you're ''not'' running out on my sister!"
* ButtMonkey: The whole cast go through instances of getting dumped on, but poor Ross seemed to become the official ButtMonkey in later seasons, ending up the victim of failed attempts, misunderstandings and overreactions one right after another. What's worse is that more than half of the instances aren't even played for laughs. His romantic life is cruelly wrecked by said misunderstandings and overreactions, and his somewhat pathetic, lovesick nature makes sure he always suffers the full impact without ever really getting to stand up for himself and make an honest effort at a healthy relationship.
* CannotSpitItOut: Ross doesn't tell Rachel he loves her for the entire first season of Friends, chickening out every time the opportunity arises. This has the unfortunate result of Rachel only finding out from Chandler while Ross is on a trip to China, and when she realizes she loves him too, he's already met someone else there.
* CatchPhrase: His distinctive "Hi" and "We were on a break!".
* TheChewToy: The director's commentary for one of the early episodes claims this is because David Schwimmer is excellent at physical comedy (such as walking into an open washing machine door).
* ChickMagnet: Ross attracts several women during the show, including Rachel (of course!), Julie, Bonnie, Emily, Elizabeth, Mona, Charlie, Chloe and others.
* CosmicPlaything: Ross can't catch a break. Whenever his relationships endure the initial crush-stage and he convinces himself things are going smoothly, [[MoralDissonance Rachel]] will interfere, or some misunderstanding happens, or his own desperation gets in the way, invariably resulting in utter heartbreak on his part. This is never seriously acknowledged, and more often than not, his friends rub it in his face afterwards, usually with all the blame too.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Pointed out that he became this after his first divorce. Ross' jealousy becomes full blown when Mark is introduced to Rachel, causing Ross to go to extreme lengths to show he is dating Rachel. When he causes a mess at Rachel's work in an attempt to show he loves her, that's what causes her to take a break from him in the first place.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as Chandler or Rachel, but he has his moments.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Can be just as bad as Chandler when it comes to this, especially when he tries flirting with other women.
* DreadfulMusician: With keyboard and ''especially'' bagpipes.
* EntitledToHaveYou: Not that she's any better when he's going out with someone new, but he has a lot of this in regards to Rachel. ''Joey'' actually calls him out in the first season finale, when Ross is complaining about her having drinks with another guy.
-->'''Joey''': (sarcastic) Oh no! How can she do that when she's never shown any interest in you?
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Hence why he's a paleontologist.
* {{Flanderization}}: His nerdiness and neurosis.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Melancholic
* GiveGeeksAChance: Palaeontologist Ross and the socialite Rachel are the show's lead examples, and had this dynamic going back to high school where he was the nerd and she was the LovableAlphaBitch, who barely noticed him. As adults she's a Spoiled weet former GoldDigger who eventually goes to work in fashion and he becomes a university professor.
* GrammarNazi: He was often this kind of Nazi or at least his irritated friends had the opinion that he was. He had a habit of correcting people when they misused "who" for "whom" and occasionally could become quite irate when confronted with bad grammar (or he would get angry about something else but still feel compelled to nitpick).
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Chandler during their college years. By the time the shows starts, his place has been taken by Joey (though Chandler calls both of them his best friend), but its clear they were very close early on including making life-long pacts and spending holidays together.
* HiddenDepths: Can turn erotic cakes into woodland creatures. Note this was an ability he didn't know he had until he had to fix Emma's birthday cake.
* HollywoodDateless: Despite his numerous girlfriends and dates during the show's run and him being kind of an {{Adorkable}} ChickMagnet (evidenced by "The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie" and "The One With The Cooking Class"), he's regularly referred to be as hopeless with women for some reason. There's even an episode named "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt", and Joey once said to him that he (and Chandler) "repels women all the time".
* HollywoodNerd: He's fairly attractive, for being a nerdy paleontologist.
* HonorBeforeReason: Ross never wants to admit he is wrong or that he did something wrong (unless an extreme circumstance forces him to). For example, when Monica threatened to expose Ross' secret to his parents about smoking pot in college, Ross kept coming up with excuses and lies on how he was tricked or how it wasn't really him that smoked. After Ross got married to Rachel while drunk, he knows that he has to get a divorce because he and Rachel would never agree to it. However, in order to save his pride and not get divorced for a 3rd time, he tries to convince Rachel to stay married to him and then lies about getting the marriage annulled.
* HotBlooded: In one episode Ross turns into "Red Ross". His hot bloodedness becomes more apparent when Rachel challenges him to poker.
* HumiliationConga: Happens to him ''a lot'', especially in later seasons.
* InformedJudaism: Subverted during his turn as the Holiday armadillo in season 7, but otherwise there's not much indication of the Gellers' religious beliefs over the course of the show.
* InSeriesNickname: Discussed several times: He likes 'Ross-A-Tron' and 'Red Ross' but they never catch on, "Wet Pants" Geller and "Crazy" Geller however.. He and Phoebe also debate between "Divorco" "Ross the Divorcer", and "The Divorce Force".
* InsufferableGenius: He tends to be right on many subjects and he always has to prove that he is right whenever someone says something grammatically incorrect or state a wrong fact. His friends naturally get annoyed by this.
--> '''Rachel''': "God, I hate it when Ross is right!"
--> '''Chandler''': "You know, I think for once Ross might actually be wrong..."
--> '''Rachel''' (delighted): "Really?!"
--> '''Chandler''': "Nah, he's right."
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Ross's 80's curly fro and mustache from his school days.
* JewishAndNerdy: As seen in InformedJudaism.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Not as bad as some other examples of this trope, but he definitely doesn't know quite as much as he thinks he does.
* LargeHam: Everyone has these moments, but Ross really ran with this trope as the Holiday Armadillo.
* LastHetRomance: His wife left him for another woman.
* LostFoodGrievance: '''MY SANDWICH?!''' (cue AstronomicZoom)
* LovableNerd. Well, in early seasons he was supposed to be a geeky romantic nice guy.
* ManChild: Although he's pretty good with his job and looking after himself, and a good father to Ben, he can fall into this in some situations. In early seasons, both he and Rachel resort to petty revenge whenever they break up from their on again off again relationship. He also gets into childish fights with his sister, Monica, such as hogging the TV or calling her childish names. For the latter, he thought his squabbles with Monica as they grew up together was harmless fun and that is why he kept doing it well into adulthood until Monica confessed that she hated him when they were kids because of his bullying.
* MommasBoy: He's clearly Judy's favorite. And then there's this quote:
--> '''Chandler''': "I was so pissed at you that night that I wanted to get back at you. So I thought, who does Ross like the more than anybody?"
--> '''Ross''': (thinks about it for a few seconds) "What did you do to my mom?"
* NeverMyFault: Monica has called him out on never taking responsibility for how bad she was made to feel in childhood, and Chandler had to remind him that even though he may thought he'd broken up with Rachel, he still slept with a girl three hours after the break and was a CrazyJealousGuy over Mark.
* NiceGuy: He is Adorkable and romantic. He becomes a good father to his son Ben and he manages to get on well with his ex-wife Carol.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Ross has a [=PhD=] in paleontology, and loves to introduce himself as Dr. Geller. When he does it at a hospital, Rachel tells him: "Ross, stop it. That actually means something here."
* NoRespectGuy: Despite being the most accomplished and successful member of the group, there is not a single moment in the entire series where the characters treat his (high-paying and well-respected) profession with anything other than mocking and derision. Granted, he ''is'' an InsufferableGenius about it, but the gang treats him like he unclogs toilets for a living instead of teaching college students.
* OneHourWorkWeek: Though his profession does come into play every now and then.
* OnlySaneMan: He likes to ''think'' he is, being the man of science and the only one with any kind of post-college education. Whilst he's arguably this early on, as the series progresses, he becomes such a neurotic mess, he can barely live up to this trope.
* RedOniBlueOni: The Red to Chandler's Blue.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: As close as a thirty-year-old man can do without any help. And it is [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments brilliant]].
* SelfDeprecation: Even Ross starts making jokes about his three failed marriages in the later seasons.
* SerialRomeo: Sure Rachel was always the one, but he falls in love with quite a few girls throughout the show.
* SerialSpouse: He had three ex-wives by the end of the series.
* SiblingRivalry: He and Monica appropriately fight like brothers would at times.
* TheSpock: To Chandler's TheKirk and Joey's TheMcCoy.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: The tallest out of the three guys. However the "handsome" part was downplayed so often to the point of aversion.
* ThatCameOutWrong: Ross was the Mayor of doing this on that show. In a late season, he's trying to convince Rachel's ex-boss to rehire her, and he learns that the man's son is into dinosaurs.
--> '''Ross''': I'll let your son come to the museum, late at night after everyone is gone, and he can touch anything he wants!... OK, I just heard that the way you must have heard it. I mean you'll be there too, and the touching just refers to bones — ''Fossils!''
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In one episode out of depression from his breakup with Emily he winds up dating Janice. However, his [[{{Wangst}} complaining]] winds up getting on ''Janice's'' nerves and she quickly ends things with him. The knowledge that he's managed to actually annoy her winds up cheering him up a little.
* TookALevelInDumbass: Ross was one of the most rational and serious members of the group in early seasons. By the end he becomes more of a neurotic mess and a ManChild prone to overreacting, often acting foolish, making bad choices and regularly putting himself into ridiculous situations. It could be that he was SurroundedByIdiots from the start and simply became one of them.
* TookALevelInJerkass: After his breakup with Emily, he gradually becomes more egotistical and obnoxious, if only to justify his ButtMonkey role.
* {{Tsundere}}: Get close to Rachel and you'll likely get this from Ross.
* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: Several times with Rachel.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Rachel.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Phoebe.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Has a great fear of spiders.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: He and Rachel are the king and the queen of this trope.
[[/folder]]

!!Secondary Characters

[[folder: Family Members]]

[[WMG: Jack & Judy Geller (Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles)]]
* AbusiveParents: Whereas Jack's treatment of Monica could be seen as being InnocentlyInsensitive, Judy is just flat-out unpleasant towards/about her:
-->'''Ross (on the phone with Judy)''': No, Mom, I’m not dead. I know it’s not something to kid about. It was just a practical joke between Chandler and me, but it’s over, ok? (pause) Actually no, even if I had died, you would not be left childless. (pause) ''Monica''?
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Either from a lack of caring that the comments they make are incredibly embarrassing (Judy) or a lack of realizing that they are (Jack).
* BumblingDad: Jack.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Jack.
* DirtyOldMan: Jack, having "accidentally" walked in on Rachel and Joey's temporary roommate Janine while they were changing. He also peeked on a couple having sex in the janitor's closet in a hospital. Unfortunately, they turned out to be Chandler and Monica.
* HappilyMarried: The only parents of the gang to be this.
* InformedAttribute: Ross & Monica apparently inherited their competitive streak from Jack. Not that you can tell from his generally very laid-back demeanor.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: How Jack's mistreatment of Monica is portrayed. After learning about her perceptions that he and Judy [[ParentalFavoritism have always favored Ross]], he attempts to make amends [[spoiler:and gives her his prized Porsche as a gift.]]
* IWantGrandkids: Judy drives Monica to tears on this subject.
* {{Jerkass}}: Judy comes off as this with her treatment of Monica.
* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Mother Like Daughter]]: Judy's mother treated her the [[AbusiveParents same way]] she treats [[TheUnfavorite Monica]]. However, as Monica is aware of this it's implied she'll break the cycle.
* MyBelovedSmother: Judy, to Monica.
** Turns out Judy's mother was also this.
* NeverMyFault: It's implied that Ross got this trait from Judy, as she has no idea that she abuses Monica horribly and doesn't think that maybe she hid the relationship with Chandler because she remembers all the putdowns about her love life.
* NiceGuy: Jack. Unless he's been angered by something ([[{{Squick}} like finding out his best friend is dating his daughter]]) he's very low-key and cheerful, and aside from making the occasional thoughtless comment he never has a legitimately unkind thing to say about anyone.
* ObliviousToTheirOwnDescription: In "The One Where Nana Dies", Judy has no idea that she treats Monica the same way Nana treated her.
* OverprotectiveDad: Jack. It is strongly implied by Richard that Jack angrily chased him after discovering that he was dating Monica.
* ParentalFavoritism: Towards Ross. Though at least in Jack's case it was unintentional and he felt horrible about it when he realized.
* PrimalScene: Monica has the misfortune of viewing them have sex not once, but twice, the first on video and the second in person while hiding in the shower.

[[WMG: Dr. Leonard & Sandra Green (Ron Leibman and Marlo Thomas)]]
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Sandra to Rachel.
* ControlFreak: Dr. Green.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Dr. Green. He's a smoking cardiologist.
* {{Jerkass}}: Both of them. Sandra is slightly kinder, though still not the most pleasant person in the world.
* RichBitch: Sandra.
* [[NiceToTheWaiter Rude to the Waiter]]: Dr. Green.
* StepfordSmiler: Sandra before their divorce.
* UpperClassTwit: Both of them.

[[WMG: Jill and Amy Green (Creator/ReeseWitherspoon and Creator/ChristinaApplegate)]]
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Jill. Amy is actually even more annoying than Jill, but she's Rachel ''older'' sister.
* BrainlessBeauty: Both are beautiful {{Upper Class Twit}}s.
* BrutalHonesty: Amy is extremely tactless and repeatedly insults Rachel's friends.
* CloudCuckooLander: Amy has a poor memory, keeps thinking Phoebe's name is Emma, that "Phoebe" is just a weird noise and keeps confusing Ross with a guy who sells fast-food, whose only resemblance to him is his dark hair.
* DumbBlonde: Both are blonde.
* HateSink: Amy. She's self-absorbed, rude, selfish, mean-spirited and overall unpleasant, she even explicitly said it would be awesome if Ross and Rachel died so she can have their baby, ''right to their faces.'' Not only that, she said that their baby (and her own goddamn niece) wasn't even that cute to their faces. Not even [[TheCasanova Joey]] can stand her, despite her good looks.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Both.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Jill, who [[InformedFlaw apparently]] aged badly.
* {{Jerkass}}: Amy, to the point where even [[ReallyGetsAround Joey]] can't stand her. The only woman Joey seems to dislike more than her is Janice.
-->'''Joey''': She may be the hottest girl I've ever hated.
* MsFanservice: Both of them.
-->'''Jill''': ''(spins around to show off her outfit)'' What do you think?
-->'''Rachel''': I-I don't like it.
-->'''Jill''': Really?
-->'''Rachel''': It's kinda slutty.
-->'''Jill''': It's ''yours''.
-->'''Rachel''': Yeah, well... I'm a slut.
-->'''Jill''': Me too!
* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Jill, whether intentional or not, showed just how much the formerly spoiled and selfish Rachel has changed. Amy was later this for Jill herself.
* RichBitch: Amy. Jill is also a SpoiledBrat but much nicer towards Rachel and her friends.
* SpoiledBrat: Both obviously.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Amy for Jill. Christina Applegate was cast as Rachel's other sister Amy since Creator/ReeseWitherspoon was unavailable to reprise her role as Jill. {{Justified}} in that it had already been established that Rachel had two sisters.
* TheUnfavorite: Both of them, since apparently Rachel is the only daughter their father is proud of.
* UpperClassTwit: And how!


[[WMG: Ursula Buffay (Creator/LisaKudrow)]]
* CainAndAbel: The Cain to Phoebe's Abel.
* {{Crossover}}: Ursula was a ''Series/MadAboutYou'' character who predated Phoebe.
* DumbBlonde: Even more on ''Mad About You'', where she didn't have to serve as {{Foil}} to Phoebe.
* EmotionlessGirl
* EvilTwin: To Phoebe.
* FauxAffablyEvil: She always speaks in a calm, pleasant tone, but genuinely doesn't care about who she messes with.
* {{Jerkass}}: She's downright cruel and unpleasant.
* LackOfEmpathy
* ObfuscatingStupidity: On the surface she appears to be even ''more'' of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} than Phoebe, but it becomes apparent that at least some of this is an act and [[ForTheEvulz she likes behaving the way she does just to screw with people]].
* ReallyGetsAround: At one point, she even becomes a porn star. [[{{Jerkass}} She uses the stage name Phoebe.]]
* SmugSnake

[[WMG: Frances (Phoebe's grandma)]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She appears to be a nice enough person from when we see her, but according to Phoebe in a far later episode while Frances was nice to her was a terrible person to everyone else and is more than likely burning in hell after death. At the very least, we do know that she wound up lying to Phoebe several times, including who her father was, who her grandfather was, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking that the secret to the recipe for her famous batch of cookies was that they were really from Nestlé Toll House]].
* CharacterDeath: In season 5 we learn that Frances has passed away.
* CoolOldLady: She has to be to look after Phoebe.
* OneShotCharacter: She only appears in "The One With Phoebe's Dad".
* OnlyOneName: Her surname was never established, but it wouldn't be Buffay, because she is the mother of Phoebe's adoptive mother Lily.
* PromotionToParent: After Lily died.

[[WMG: Frank Buffay Jr (Giovanni Ribisi)]]
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling
* BuffySpeak
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: To the point that [[TheDitz Phoebe]] actually takes on the role of the CloudcuckoolandersMinder when hanging out with him.
* HappilyMarried: To Alice.
* LikesOlderWomen: Alice, at least
* LongLostRelative: whilst trying to find her father, Phoebe runs into her father's second wife and his son--AKA her half brother.
* MakeOutKids: With Alice.
* MayDecemberRomance: With Alice.
* MustHaveCaffeine: It's not said outright, but in season 10 it's pretty clear that his triplets have driven him so mad with their antics he relies entirely on coffee to have enough energy, shown by the classic caffeine rush he has when talking to Phoebe. He also mentions not having slept for four years, which must definitely mean this.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Again, with Alice.

[[WMG: Phoebe Abbott (Teri Garr)]]
* GenerationXerox: She and Phoebe (junior) are very similar.
* LongLostRelative: She didn't feel ready to be a mother, and walked out on her family. Frank and Lily took over, and Lily is the adoptive mother who passed away, leaving Phoebe alone at the age of 14.
* LukeIAmYourFather: With similar impact to the original line, in context.
* {{Polyamory}}: "Frank, Lily and I... The three of us were... a couple."
* TellMeAboutMyFather: Why Phoebe visits her in the first place.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the two-parter at the beach house, it's revealed that Phoebe's biological mother is very much alive. After this two-parter and one Season 4 guest appearance, she never appears again and arguably came down with ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.

[[WMG: Frank Buffay Sr (Bob Balaban)]]
* DisappearedDad: Walked out on Phoebe, Ursula and Lily, and later on Frank Jr. and his mother.
* LongLostRelative: Phoebe starts looking for him in Season 2. He doesn't show up until Season 5.
* OneShotCharacter: Only appears in one episode.
* ShrinkingViolet: He's an incredibly nervous man, never raising his voice for anything, easily spooked, and eventually reveals that he left the family because he didn't think he was a good enough father.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He made one appearance and was never seen or heard from again.

[[WMG: Joseph Francis Sr and Gloria Tribbiani (Robert Costanzo and Brenda Vaccaro)]]
* KavorkaMan: Joey's dad is not much to look at, yet he has extramarital affairs.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Like his son, Joseph Sr doesn't take relationships too seriously, since he cheats on his wife and it's implied he ReallyGetsAround.
* OneShotCharacter: They only appear in one episode in season 1.
* YourCheatingHeart: Joey's dad. However his wife seems ok with it.

[[WMG: Tribbiani Sisters]]
* AscendedExtra: Gina is a regular character in Series/{{Joey}}, [[TheOtherDarrin although portrayed by a different actress.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gina, in the spinoff Series/{{Joey}} .
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: A family of eight children.
* OneShotCharacter: All seven of them only appear in "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", although they are sometimes mentioned. One of them (Dina) appears in another episode, but [[TheOtherDarrin played by a different actress.]]
* TeenPregnancy: Dina in "The One With Monica's Boots". And according to Series/{{Joey}}, this is part of Gina's backstory with her son Michael.

[[WMG: Nora-Tyler & Charles Bing (Morgan Fairchild & Kathleen Turner)]]

-->'''Charles''': Aren't you a little too old to be wearing something like that?
-->'''Nora''': Don't you have too much penis to be wearing something like that?

* AbusiveParents: Borderline. They're not intentionally hurtful, but having orgies in front of your seven year old son, kidnapping him after cub scouts and making him take the Janitor to Parents Day isn't great parenting by any stretch of the imagination.
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Nora is an erotic novelist.
** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} with Charles, if this quote from Chandler is anything to go by:
-->''"All kids are embarrassed by their parents! You’d have to come up with a whole new word for what I went through..."''
** To cheer him up, Ross reminds Chandler that he is nothing like either of his parents since both of them hit on Ross but Chandler never did.
* AwfulWeddedLife: Before they divorced. According to Chandler they had sexual power struggles over the pool boy.
* CrossCastRole: Chandler's drag queen (but not transsexual) father is played by a woman, Kathleen Turner.
* [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]]: It's obvious where Chandler got it from.
* DragQueen: Charles.
* MrsRobinson: Nora made out with Ross in "The One With Mrs. Bing".
* NoAccountingForTaste: It's not clear why either of them got married in the first place.
* NoodleIncident: That time Nora got arrested at the airport.
-->'''Nora:''' Since then, I've always had a hankering for kung-pow chicken.
-->'''Chandler:''' And then I burst into flames.
* ParentalNeglect: To Chandler.
* SerialSpouse: Nora who apparently remarried three times after Charles.
* TransEqualsGay: Chandler's father is referred to as gay, and is in drag every time he's on camera.
* YourCheatingHeart: Both of them. Special mention to both sleeping with the best man just before the wedding.

[[WMG: Carol Willick & Susan Bunch (Jane Sibbett & Jessica Hecht)]]
* AmicablyDivorced: Carol and Ross are still very close; if she wasn't a lesbian, they'd probably still be together. This may explain why Susan doesn't seem to like Ross much.
* HappilyMarried: They get married in season 2.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite her disdain, Susan does give Ross a break in some instances. Most notably "The One With The Lesbian Wedding." It probably helped that Ross convinced Carol to proceed with her and Susan's wedding even after Carol's parents refused to show up, even giving Carol away. Ultimately, they're willing to tolerate each other, though there's always a bit of rivalry.
* LipstickLesbian: Carol.
* OutOfFocus: In later seasons they just disappear, Susan last appearing in the alternate reality episode of season 6, Carol last appearing in the middle of season 7.
* SecondLove: Carol to Ross, if you consider Ross's first love his teenage crush on Rachel. And obviously FirstGirlWins.
* SuddenlySexuality: Carol.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Susan and Carol, respectively.

[[WMG:Ben Geller-Willick (Charles Thomas Allen/John Christoper Allen, later Cole Sprouse)]]
* HasTwoMommies
* MouthyKid: Later in the show, when played by Cole Sprouse.
* LineOfSightName: His name is taken from the tag on a janitor uniform Phoebe wears.
* OutOfFocus: He disappeared after season eight. After Emma was born (indeed, after Rachel got ''pregnant''), he's barely mentioned again.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: PlayedForLaughs when Jack calls Emma "my first grandchild" and Ross has to remind him that Ben exists.

[[WMG: Emma Geller-Green]]
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter
* CheerfulChild: She really enjoys the song "Baby got Back".
* CryingLittleKid: In "The One Where Emma Cries."
* DaddysGirl
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Joey's stuffed toy penguin, Hugsy.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the last episode. She is mentioned to be [[spoiler: moving to Paris with Rachel under the supervision of Rachel's mom. Being that Rachel abandoned her Paris plans, it can be assumed Emma would live with both her parents now.]]

[[WMG: [[spoiler: Jack and Erica Bing]]]]
* [[spoiler: BabiesEverAfter]]
* [[spoiler: BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Justified as Monica and Chandler longed for children and went through a lot to get them.]]
* [[spoiler: HappilyAdopted:]] Implied
* [[spoiler: SurprisePregnancy: Played with, Erica (the birth mother) knew she was pregnant...she just didn't know it was ''twins''.]]
* [[spoiler: UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other Characters]]

[[WMG: Gunther (James Michael Tyler)]]
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Poor Gunther never had a chance with Rachel.
* AscendedExtra: Appeared in 131 episodes. Only the Friends themselves appeared in more (238).
* TheBartender
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Has a tendency to be this, most notably when he intentionally spills to Rachel that Ross slept with the copy girl.
* FormerChildStar: Claims to have played Bryce from ''Series/AllMyChildren'' (in case you were wondering, he wasn't: there was no such character on that show).
** Bryce was likely a part of a fictionalized All My Children as was Dr. Drake Romoray on Days of our Lives.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: He has some of the character traits, such as being kind, and a ChasteHero who never had a chance with Rachel. His blond hair is noted frequently, to the point that Rachel states she will remember him whenever she sees a man with hair "brighter than the Sun".
* HiddenDepths: Has a smoking habit, speaks fluent Dutch and may have been a child actor.
** Tyler had a real-life example in the form of working the coffee machine. It got him cast as Gunther because none of the other extras knew how to do it. Note that this one little trait ensured him 10 years of employment on one of the most successful television comedies of all time, and is one of the major candidates for [[SixthRanger Seventh Friend]] (the other being Mike).
* OnlyOneName: Lampshaded. He asks Chandler if he can remember his last name. Chandler's answer is "Centralperk."
* SingleTargetSexuality: He's very much Rachel-sexual. When Phoebe kisses him to get her cold back, he apologizes to Rachel for not stopping the kiss.
* SixthRanger: Seventh.
* UnknownRival: To Ross.

[[WMG: Janice Litman (Maggie Wheeler)]]
* AbhorrentAdmirer: To Chandler. However, in the third season, Chandler actually falls for her and dates her for a while.
* AnnoyingLaugh: A signifying character trait, to which Chandler cringes every time he hears Janice laugh.
* BigOMG: Will always say her catchphrase as such and nothing lower.
* CatchPhrase: [[PunctuatedForEmphasis OH. MY. GOD!]]
* FirstLove: To Chandler. When he was actually serious about her she was the first girl he got through the 'relationship tunnel' with. (Kathy was his second and Monica was his third.)
* {{Flanderization}}: She gets louder, more melodramatic and more irritating to the other characters as seasons go on.
* GenkiGirl
* HiddenDepths: Has a couple of scenes in the later seasons that help air out some of the characters' situations (for instance, making Rachel re-consider her situation with Ross post-Emma).
* IncomingHam: Her catchphrase is, more than once, the first thing she says when she encounters the friends after a long absence in the series.
* LargeHam: Eccentric, loud, and enjoys every minute of it.
* MostAnnoyingSound: In-universe, the above line can apparently [[BrownNote cause Chandler's testicles to retract back into his body.]]
* [[ObliviouslyEvil Oblivious Jinx]]: She's never actively malevolent and generally has a good heart. However, whenever she appears, she couldn't [[SpannerInTheWorks screw up Chandler's day]] any more if she tried.
* OnceASeason: She is involved in at least one episode in each of the show's ten seasons (though in the sixth we only hear her voice).
* OverlyLongName: Janice Litman Goralnik (née Hosenstein).
* QuirkyCurls: Her hair is always in curls.
* RecurringCharacter: Was Chandler's on again off again girlfriend, thus she would always appear when the plot called for it.
* TakeThat: Supposed to be a parody of [[Series/TheNanny Fran Drescher]].
** Some local stations, when doing promos for episodes that feature Janice, actually announce, "Fran Drescher guest stars on the next ''Friends''!"
* YourCheatingHeart: A turning point in her relationship with Chandler. When the two meet again after some time passed, she is married and has a child, yet she still opts to make out with Chandler. After confronting her over who she should choose and after some thinking, Chandler decides that he doesn't want to be the person who destroys a family, so he breaks up with her so that she can have a happy family.

[[WMG: Mr. Heckles (Larry Hankin)]]
* CeilingBanger
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Often bugged the gang about strange things.
-->'''Heckles''': You're disturbing my birds.
-->'''Monica''': You don't have birds.
-->'''Heckles''' I could have birds.
* CharacterDeath: He was an older guy, but not that old. Chandler is particularly shattered by his death because he thinks their lives share the same path.
* HiddenDepths: He was part of a tight knit group before becoming a shut-in. He was the funny one.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Constantly complained about noise, but everyone thought he was just trying to annoy them. After he died, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe found that the apartment's acoustics ''did'' amplify the noise from upstairs.
* LimitedWardrobe: Always in a bathrobe.
* ShadowArchetype: He is what Chandler would have become if he remained scared of relationships.
* SitcomArchnemesis
* SmallRoleBigImpact: According to one flashback, Joey wouldn't have been Chandler's roommate--and therefore, wouldn't have been part of the main cast--if it weren't for him.

[[WMG: Dr. Barry Farber (Mitchell Whitfield)]]
* DisposableFiance
* {{Jerkass}}
* NewOldFlame
* RomanticFalseLead
* TookALevelInJerkass: Is a reasonable enough person in his first appearance, but becomes more and more of a jerk with each successive appearance.
* UpperClassTwit
* YourCheatingHeart: He cheats on Rachel with her (former) best friend Mindy while engaged to her. And ''then'' he cheats on Mindy with Rachel when they are engaged. It is later mentioned that Mindy eventually divorces him after she discovers him being unfaithful again.

[[WMG: Paolo (Cosimo Fusco)]]
* AllMenArePerverts
* TheBusCameBack: Briefly in Season 2, when Rachel has a one night stand with him on an impulse after being depressed with Ross' new relationship with Julie.
-->'''Ross''': Hey Paulo...? What are you doing here?
-->'''Paolo''': I DO RAQUEL!
* ForeignPeopleAreSexy: More InformedAttractiveness than anything though.
* HotGuysAreBastards
* LatinLover
* RomanticFalseLead: Former TropeNamer.
* YourCheatingHeart: He makes multiple passes at Phoebe while still dating Rachel.

[[WMG: Fun Bobby (Vincent Ventresca)]]
* TheAlcoholic
* IronicName: He's not only boring (it's the alcohol that puts the "fun" into Fun Bobby), but downright depressing when sober.
* TheEeyore: Due to his grandfather's death, he suffers from depression without alcohol.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His full name is never revealed.

[[WMG: Julie (Creator/LaurenTom)]]
* AsianAndNerdy
* BettyAndVeronica: The Betty to Rachel's Veronica for Ross' Archie.
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Ross.
* NiceGirl
* PairTheSpares: after Ross breaks up with her because "She's not Rachem," Rachel still doesn't date him. She instead hooks up with a guy named "Russ" (played by [[ActingForTwo "Snaro"]]) who is virtually identical to Ross. In TheStinger of that episode, he sees Julie, and she him, and it appears to be LoveAtFirstSight.
* RomanticFalseLead

[[WMG: Dr. Richard Burke (Creator/TomSelleck)]]
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How Chandler feels. In reality though Chandler is actually ''Richard's'' AlwaysSomeoneBetter, as Monica chose him over Richard several times. Interestingly, the show ''Series/DreamOn'' from the same creators had also sort-of featured an AlwaysSomeoneBetter romantic rival named Richard, but in that case the character was never seen.
* BadassGrandpa: He never actually demonstrates this, but Joey (generally considered the group's most scrappy member) is absolutely certain Richard could kick his and Chandler's butts at the same time.
* BadassMustache
* BettyAndVeronica: In Season 6, the Veronica to Chandler's Betty for Monica's Archie.
* TheBusCameBack: In season 3 and in season 6. However he's still frequently mentioned even later.
* CoolOldGuy: "I'm an entire person who can drink older than you."
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Steps down when he realizes Monica is meant to be with Chandler.
* FirstLove: To Monica. (Pete was her second and Chandler was her third).
* LoveInterest: To Monica in season 2.
* MayDecemberRomance: With Monica.
* NiceGuy: Lampshaded by Chandler.
--> '''Chandler''': You know, Richard... you are a good guy.
--> '''Richard''': I know. I hate that.
* RomanticFalseLead: In his final appearance.
* TeamDad: To his dismay, Chandler and Joey only think of him as this rather than as an equal.

[[WMG: Eddie Menuek (Adam Goldberg)]]
* AmbiguousDisorder: He most likely suffers from schizophrenia.
** FunnySchizophrenia: His bizarre behavior is PlayedForLaughs.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: ''Big time''.
* TheMentallyDisturbed
* ReplacementGoldfish: To Joey, as Chandler's roommate.
** A literal example when Eddie buys a goldfish after irrationally believing that Chandler killed his previous fish. After temporarily replacing it with a goldfish cracker from Pepperidge Farm, anyway.

[[WMG: "Ugly Naked Guy"]]
* CharacterDeath: {{Subverted}}. In one episode the gang think he is dead, but he's actually just sleeping.
* TheFaceless: We see brief glimpses of him in "The One with the Poking Device" and "The One Where Everybody Finds Out," but never see his face directly.
* TheGhost
* IWasQuiteALooker
-->'''Phoebe''': (''in flashback'') Cute Naked Guy is really starting to put on weight.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny
* NoNameGiven
* PutOnABus

[[WMG: Estelle Leonard (June Gable)]]
* CharacterDeath: She died in the last season.
* TheDitz: Which barely helps Joey's fledging career.
* SmokingIsCool: When she appears, she is always on the phone or talking with Joey while smoking cigarettes.
* TwoFirstNames

[[WMG: Mark Robinson (Steven Eckholdt)]]
* TheBusCameBack: In the season 10 episode "The One With Princess Consuela".
* HappilyMarried: It's revealed in season 10 that Mark is married with twins.
* RomanticFalseLead: Definitely. While Mark never asked Rachel out until she ended her relationship with Ross, he was always considered as an obstacle to Ross and Rachel's relationship and was one of the reason for their break-up (although it's mostly because Ross was a ''massive'' CrazyJealousGuy).

[[WMG: Pete Becker (Creator/JonFavreau)]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Monica. Both of them are super-competitive, hard-working determinators who are too stubborn for their own good.
* CompetitionFreak: Why he and Monica eventually break up.
* DerailingLoveInterests
* TheDeterminator: Like Monica.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Towards Monica.
* NiceGuy
* NonIdleRich
* NotWithThemForTheMoney: Despite Rachel's encouragement Monica refuses to date him unless she develops genuine feelings. (She does.) She also refuses to let him give her her own restaurant.
* RichPeople
* SecondLove: To Monica. (Richard being the first and Chandler being the third).
* SelfMadeMan
* TooMuchAlike: Despite sharing his stubborn, competitive nature, Monica can't deal with it and they break up, [[{{Foreshadowing}} hinting she needs someone more relaxed than her]]. Her next, and last, boyfriend is the easy-going Chandler.

[[WMG: Joanna (Alison La Placa)]]
* AssholeVictim: Sophie is genuinely happy when she dies.
* BadBoss: To Sophie, so much.
** BenevolentBoss: She's ''slightly'' nicer to Rachel, as despite all the crap she puts her through, eventually admits that she's a good assistant.
* CharacterDeath: She is one of the few recurring characters to have been killed on the show.
* {{Jerkass}}: Not only she treats Sophie like crap, but also tries to sabotage Rachel's interview for a higher position because she loves Rachel as her assistant.
** And when Chandler doesn't call her back after their date, she blames Rachel (who introduced them) for it and rather ominously hints to her that she'll fire her because of this--this is flat-out illegal workplace behavior.

[[WMG: Sophie (Laura Dean)]]
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: She takes Joanna's death very well.
* ButtMonkey: She's constantly picked on by her boss Joanna.

[[WMG: Bonnie (Christine Taylor)]]
* BaldWomen: She used to be this, but when Rachel meets her she is horrified to see that her hair has actually grown back and she is actually a very attractive woman. Until Rachel convinces her to shave her hair off again in "The One at the Beach".
* BettyAndVeronica: The Veronica to Rachel's Betty for Ross' Archie.
* TheGenericGirl: Aside from being formerly bald, there's nothing particularly noteworthy or interesting about her character.
* ReallyGetsAround: This is revealed at the beginning of "The One At The Beach," which makes it all the more strange that Ross of all people would be dating her.
* RomanticFalseLead: Of course.

[[WMG: Chip Matthews (Dan Gauthier)]]
* BigManOnCampus: In high school, where he was dating the equally popular Rachel.
* TheFaceless: In "The One with the Prom Video", he's played by an unknown, uncredited actor and his face is not seen on screen.
* FutureLoser: He was the most popular guy in high school, now he's an immature ManChild with no job who still lives with his parents.
* ManChild: Monica dates him in "The One With The Cat" and learns that he hasn't matured at all since high school.
* YourCheatingHeart: He wasn't very faithful to Rachel, and at the prom he abandoned her to go have sex with a girl named Amy Welsh.

[[WMG: Kathy (Paget Brewster)]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: Chandler falls in love with her after they bond over their favorite television show.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Sadly comes off as this, when she sleeps with Nick. Cheating once was sympathetic because she claimed to have fallen in love with Chandler, but cheating again tips her into this territory.
* {{Hypocrite}}: When Chandler says it should be understandable that he believes she could be cheating on him with co-star Nick, considering how they got together, she gets upset and leaves... and promptly cheats on Chandler with Nick.
* LoveInterest: To Chandler and Joey in season 4.
* SecondLove: To Chandler, with Janice being first. (Monica was his third).
* YourCheatingHeart: She cheated on Joey with Chandler. Later she cheats on Chandler with Nick, leading to the end of their relationship.

[[WMG: Joshua Burgin (Tate Donovan)]]
* TheGenericGuy: It's not clear why Rachel was so attracted to him.
* LoveInterest: To Rachel in season 4, although he's obviously just a RomanticFalseLead.
* ObliviousToLove: He was clueless about Rachel's crush on him in the beginning.

[[WMG: Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale)]]
* BreakTheCutie: Before the season 4 finale after which she became a...
* ClingyJealousGirl
* ControlFreak: Again, only after the season 4 finale.
* EnglishRose
* HideYourPregnancy: Emily's last two appearances have her in bed, under the blankets.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: She had shades of this trope and similar effect on Ross. They spontaneously went to Vermont and enthusiastically watched animals and enjoyed the autumn there, he played rugby because of her, she made him pierce his ear and enroll in helicopter lessons. Though he says she won't be around for long enough for him to actually frequent the lessons.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Her arc was supposed to be longer, but because of Baxendale's pregnancy and desire to work back in England, she was written off quicker than intended.
* RomanticFalseLead
* TookALevelInJerkass: After Ross said his ex-girlfriend's name at the altar and then tried to get on the honeymoon flight with said ex, Emily went into a paranoia overdrive but she had jerkass foreshadowing from the start. Her first appearance had her being completely judgemental about strangers who didn't have a chance to explain themselves. Ross later handwaved it as her being soaking wet at the time. It was also revealed that, despite being with Ross for a couple of weeks, she also had a long-term beau back home which she ended up dumping abruptly in favour of Ross, but only after Ross learned about it and decided to "fight" for her. And in the rugby episode she gave out weak points of the other players for Ross to exploit to inflict as much pain as possible, even his own teammates.

[[WMG: Gary (Creator/MichaelRapaport)]]
* FairCop
* LoveInterest: To Phoebe in season 5.
** DerailingLoveInterests: And how! He was a NiceGuy who genuinely loved Phoebe and she even agreed to move in with him happily...until he shot a bird just because it was chirping too loudly. Phoebe broke up with him and he was never seen again.

[[WMG: Janine Lecroix (Creator/{{Elle MacPherson}})]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing
* EveryoneLovesBlondes
* GirlyGirl: She likes pictures of babies, vases with flowers, bowls with petals, pretty little boxes or colorful pillows.
* LoveInterest: To Joey.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Briefly with Monica, with Janine complaining she's 'too loud' and running away when Monica challenges her to fight it out.

[[WMG: Elizabeth Stevens (Alexandra Holden)]]
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: She dates Ross, her professor from college. Her dad is not pleased.
* TeacherStudentRomance: She dates Ross who was her paleontology teacher.

[[WMG: Paul Stevens (Creator/BruceWillis)]]
* BeneathTheMask
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Especially in the episode "The One Where Paul's the Man" when he starts talking and singing exaggeratedly to himself in the mirror.
-->'''Paul''': Just relax. Just relax, Paul, you're doing great. She likes you. She... maybe, she likes you. She likes you. You know why? Because you're a... neat guy. You are the man. You are... The Man! I still got it! Nice and sexy. You're just a love machine.
* FreudianExcuse: He had a horrible childhood that made him a very insecure person. Curiously PlayedForLaughs, especially when he begins crying for hours and Rachel dumps him for this reason.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood
* {{Hypocrite}}: He doesn't like Ross' relationship with his daughter because Ross is much older than she is. Then Paul starts dating Rachel, who is considerably younger than him.
* {{Jerkass}}: To Ross, especially.
* JerkassFacade: As revealed in "The One With The Ring".
* OverprotectiveDad: He still sees his college-aged daughter Elizabeth as his little girl.

[[WMG: Tag Jones (Eddie Cahill)]]
* BrainlessBeauty
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Even Chandler gushes about how good-looking he is.
* HiredForTheirLooks: As Rachel's assistant.
* LoveInterest: To Rachel.
* NiceGuy
* PrettyBoy: He's quite young and has pretty, almost feminine features.
* RomanticFalseLead: He dates Rachel but they are not meant to be.
* SleepingWithTheBoss: He becomes Rachel's lover even though she's his boss.


[[WMG: Mona (Bonnie Somerville)]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Ross. She is the only person to understand the reference to his "Spudnik" Halloween costume.
* [[TheGenericGuy The Generic Girl]]
* LoveInterest: To Ross.
* NiceGirl
* OnlyOneName: Her last name is not revealed.
* RomanticFalseLead

[[WMG: Gavin Mitchell (Dermot Mulroney)]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Rachel.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome
* DeadpanSnarker
* TheGadfly
* HiddenDepths: He apparently was a rodeo clown, which intrigued Rachel.
-->"One of the best, ma'am, one of the best."
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold

[[WMG: Charlie Wheeler (Aisha Tyler)]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Ross. They're both paleontologists who work at the same university. They begin dating after Charlie breaks up with Joey.
* DerailingLoveInterests
* HotScientist: She's a stunningly good-looking paleontologist.
* LoveInterest: To Joey and Ross.
* OppositesAttract: With Joey.
* StatuesqueStunner: She's a tall and imposing beauty. She's taller than most female characters and looms over some men as well.
* TomboyishName: Charlie is usually a male name.
* YourCheatingHeart

[[WMG: Mike Hannigan (Creator/PaulRudd)]]
* BettyAndVeronica: The Betty to David's Veronica for Phoebe's Archie.
* TheBusCameBack: He breaks up with Phoebe midway through Season 9 but then returns during the season finale.
* DeadpanSnarker: It's Paul Rudd, after all.
* HappilyMarried: Eventually to Phoebe.
* TheGenericGuy
* LoveInterest
* NiceGuy: He loves Phoebe and patiently puts up with her eccentricities.
* OnlySaneMan
* OppositesAttract: With Phoebe.
* PursueTheDreamJob: He becomes a pro pianist quite late in his life.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Savvy Guy to Phoebe's Energetic Girl.
* SecondLove: To Phoebe (David was her first serious love interest).
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: At the end of the eighth season Phoebe meets a man named Cliff, who similarly to Mike was also formerly married and is a NiceGuy who can put up with her odd behaviorisms. Come season nine and he is never mentioned despite it picking up directly where the previous season left off while Mike is almost immediately introduced, suggesting that he was going to have the role Mike ultimately wound up with in the series.
* UptownGirl: Gender inverted. He's a former lawyer and comes from a very wealthy family who are not thrilled at him falling for former StreetUrchin Phoebe.

[[WMG: David (Creator/HankAzaria)]]
* {{Adorkable}}: David the science guy who Phoebe was absolutely crazy about. She couldn't stand Ross's obsession with science, but she loved David's lab and thought he was extremely clever and extremely cute.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Veronica to Mike's Betty for Phoebe's Archie.
%% * BunnyEarsLawyer
* ButtMonkey: His scientific career, his romance with Phoebe, all goes south easily.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler: Loses Phoebe to Mike at the end of Season 9]]
* ExtremeDoormat: More than Chandler and Ross combined. Specially in the Barbados episodes, where he just wants to please Phoebe.
* GibberingGenius: Smart scientist, constantly stammering and such.
* LoveInterest: He likes Phoebe a lot. He's her first serious boyfriend, though only for one episode. He comes back now and then.
%%* NiceGuy
* OnlyOneName: His last name is unknown. He's just known as David "the Scientist Guy".
* PutOnABus: He went to Minsk to work on a science project. TheBusCameBack: First in season 7 (for just one episode) and then in the second half of season 9.
* PutOnABusToHell: To say his final farewell in the Season 9 finale was cold and unceremonious would be a ''massive'' understatement. Fans almost unanimously cite this as one of the lowest points in the whole series.
* VerbalTic: His lines are often punctuated by stutters and 'um's.

[[WMG: Erica (Creator/AnnaFaris)]]
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: When talking about the potential fathers of her baby, she mentioned one of the possibilities was a guy in prison who murdered his parents with a shovel.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: As Monica said, she didn't really pay attention in Sex Ed, otherwise she'd have known that whatever it was she did with "Shovelly Joe" cannot possibly result in pregnancy.
* BrainlessBeauty: She's pretty but not very bright.
--> '''Monica''': There's something that we wanna tell you. We decided to name the girl-baby Erica.
--> '''Erica''': Oh my God, that's just like my name!
* DumbBlonde: She didn't even realize she was pregnant [[spoiler:with twins and thought she would have one baby.]]
* NiceGirl
* OnlyOneName: Her last name is not revealed.
* SurprisePregnancy: [[spoiler:Played with, Erica knew she was pregnant... she just didn't know it was ''twins''.]]
* TookALevelInDumbass: When we first meet her she's a perfectly normal, intelligent girl. Then she seemed to get progressively dumber in every appearance she made, which is saying something given that she was only a one-season character. By the end of the show she's so stupid that her IQ is merely half of Forrest Gump's. [[spoiler: Of course by the finale, you realize this was done to justify the surprise of her having twins and not realizing it.]]

[[/folder]]

* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Chandler had a Flock of Seagulls haircut in his college days. Also, he once won a VanillaIce look-alike contest.

* {{Hypocrite}}: She dumps Ross for sleeping with someone else while they were on her poorly defined 'break', (which he fairly enough thought was a break up). When he gets a new girlfriend, she kisses him and tries to have sex with him.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Ursula was appearing on ''Series/MadAboutYou'' before ''Friends'' premiered; it was Kudrow's performance there that helped get her cast as Phoebe. When this series launched, it was decided to make Phoebe and Ursula twins to justify Kudrow playing characters on two different NBC shows.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: When Matt [=LeBlanc=] dislocated his shoulder around the start of the third season, they just wrote it in for the character so they didn't have to write him out or hide his sling (Joey breaks it by falling while jumping on the bed).

* GeniusDitz:
** He's practically mentally impaired when it comes to anything but women (and food), and even then he only knows how to get them into bed. Once in a while though, he can be inexplicably cunning, fire off weird but practical knowledge or think brilliantly outside the box, and then go right back to being a ditz, sometimes in the same sentence.
** Joey was also the ''only'' one in the group to figure out on his own that Ross had a thing for Rachel. (Chandler being Ross's confidant and the girls finding out when the secret was blown). He was also the only one to figure out on his own that Chandler and Monica were together (Rachel accidentally heard them having phone sex, and Phoebe and Ross saw them having sex).

* BookDumb: She doesn't know the plot of ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' or who was the enemy in UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne (though neither did some of the others). She even actually ''believes'' Phoebe when she sarcastically says that the plot of ''Literature/JaneEyre'' involves cyborgs. She didn't seem to have any trouble with ''LittleWomen'' though.

* BigOMG

* LargeHam

* QuirkyCurls
* RecurringCharacter

* YourCheatingHeart