Hydrophile, from the Greek (hydros) "water" and φιλια (philia) "friendship," refers to a physical property of a molecule that can transiently bond with water (H₂O) through hydrogen bonding. This is thermodynamically favorable, and makes these molecules soluble not only in water, but also in other polar solvents. In chemistry, a molecule is an aggregate of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by special forces. ... In chemistry, a hydrogen bond is a type of attractive intermolecular force that exists between two partial electric charges of opposite polarity. ... Thermodynamics (Greek: thermos = heat and dynamic = change) is the physics of energy, heat, work, entropy and the spontaneity of processes. ...

A hydrophilic molecule or portion of a molecule is one that is typically charge-polarized and capable of hydrogen bonding, enabling it to dissolve more readily in water than in oil or other hydrophobic solvents. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules are also known as polar molecules and nonpolar molecules, respectively. In chemistry, a molecule is an aggregate of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by special forces. ... Snapshot from a simulation of liquid water. ... In chemistry, hydrophobic or lipophilic species, or hydrophobes, tend to be electrically neutral and nonpolar, and thus prefer other neutral and nonpolar solvents or molecular environments. ... A commonly-used example of a polar compound is water (H2O). ... In chemistry, a nonpolar compound is one that does not have concentrations of positive or negative electric charge. ...

Soap has a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail which allows it to dissolve in both waters and oils, therefore allowing the soap to clean a surface.

See also

• Hydrophobe
• Wetting
• Super hydrophilicity