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This article examines the principles by which girls and boys come to discriminate between various levels of friendship, and the role played therein by sincerity. First and foremost, it shows that sincerity is not expected as part of every friendly relationship. It is a concern principally in the case of the closest of these relationships, those that matter the most to the children. It goes on to show that sincerity relies in most cases on two requisites: involvement and reciprocity, on the one hand, and “being true”, on the other. All children adhere to both principles, but they address them differently, depending on their gender and social origin.