How Do You Tell If Your “Friend” Is Just An Acquaintance?

Different cultures have their social cues to let someone know if they are an acquaintance or a friend. But universal hints exist that one can take to determine which it is and what to expect from someone they know.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” — C.S. Lewis

Love can happen at first sight, but rarely do people act on it by proposing marriage within a week.

Likewise, people can develop a friendship instantly upon meeting someone — usually through the realization that they share common interests. These deeper relationships, though, normally develop after becoming better acquainted.

However, even after knowing someone a while, one can mistake them for a friend — even if the feeling is not mutual.

“Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation.” — Oscar Wilde

Can you talk to that person? Does conversation flow naturally, or do you have to force it?

Sometimes we just don’t have much to say. Maybe we’re introverts — which is fine. But even introverts have people in their lives they can bond with.