How do YOU differentiate a friend from an acquaintance?

Question

THANK YOU ALL!

Answer 1

What a wonderful question. If we haven't already, we will one day learn to distinguish between the two. Life has taught me that I will go through life itself thinking that I had a lot of friends when really all I had was some good acquaintances. My struggles that life delt me from time to time, always seemed to be the point in which SOME of those acquaintances rose to the level of friends. Now I realize that while we may mingle with a lot of people in this life time, true friends are the ones that really deep down, care for you. They hurt when you hurt and their happy when you're happy. They sincerely mean it when they say, Is there anything I can do for you? Or, How are you doing?

Answer 2

In life an adult person can count his friends on one hand, and usually a person has just "one" good friend during their life. A friend is a person who you can tell your secrets to and they will never tell them, nor will they embarass you or look down on you. They don't always have to have the same opinion as you do on all things but they understand your reasoning and won't try to change you.

An acquaintance is all the others that you make small talk with. Of course a boss is a boss, a parent a parent, etc. as they all have different titles.

when I first started using the internet, messaging, chatrooms, forums, and the new electronics and cell phones, I was taken aback when all these places called acquaintances as being friends. Friends on the internet mean someone else, it means you talk with occasionally or often, maybe do business with them (buy and sell) but it does not mean you tell them everything you know, think or feel.

Answer 3

A friend is someone who would listen to you if you needed to talk, who really cares about you. An acquaintance is just someone who says hello. A friend usually remembers your birthday with a card, an acquaintance sometimes remembers your name. A friend would give you a lift home, even if you didn't live near them. An acquaintance may well say good night to you as they walk past you shivering at the bus stop in the snow, to get in their car and drive to their home a few streets from where you live. A friend thinks about you and cares about you. It doesn't occur to an acquaintance to wonder if you have long to wait for that bus etc - they don't want to share their space with you even for half an hour.

Answer 4

A friend is someone i can turn to and doesnt hesitate to turn to me in a time of need. You can calla friend for anything. A friend is some one you have a special bond with, an acquaintance just doesnt have that bond.

like the saying goes, an acquaintance would bail you out of jail, but a friend would be in the cell with you saying "wow! that was fun!".

Answer 5

An acquaintance is somebody who I get on with, and maybe see once or twice every two days, and a friend I see more regularly and have more interesting conversations with. When I talk to my acquaintances mostly it's small talk!

Answer 6

An acquaintance is someone I would say hello to when I pass. A friend is someone I would have lunch with.

Answer 7

Friends I like. Acquaintances I run into (unfortunately).

Answer 8

Friends take turns to give and take on the important things. Acquaintances talk about the big things but never get the nitty gritty.

Answer 9

An acquaintance is someone you just met, or you know who that person is but haven't really met, or that person is a friend of a friend. A friend is someone that is dear to you in many different ways to be selected.... and usually they don't want anything in return except friendship. Also that friend helps out in time of need.(True friends usually come out of the woodwork when in dire straits)

Answer 10

a friend is someone who loves you and would do pretty much anything for you. an acquaintance is somebody who you randomly talk to a couple of times. Also you do stuff with friends like go places and acquatances you just talk to when you are at skool or church or wherever.