Friend or just an acquaintance?
Words make sense
If in Italian there is a difference between "friend" and "acquaintance" there will be a reason. First of all, these two words don't mean the same thing. Let's consider their precise meanings. According to the De Mauro dictionary: a friend is "someone who has a bond of friendship with someone" while an acquaintance is "a person you know, but with whom you do not entertain particular friendships." Let's examine some concrete examples to eliminate any doubts ...
Who are your real friends?
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- Maria, the historical friend: from the death of your hamster to your first kiss, through the divorce of your parents ... She was present in all the important stages of your adolescence. Even if your paths have separated, you know that one call is enough to resume your conversation as if nothing had happened.
- Lisa, the trusted friend: you do not hide anything from her and you are not afraid to entrust her with your most embarrassing secrets. She does not judge you and will always be ready to cover up all your nonsense. But her honesty doesn't stop her from being lucid and shaking you violently when you're wrong. Your arguments can be tough, but you know they are only for your own good.
- Valeria, the discreet friend: you don't see each other every week, you don't spend hours on the phone and yet she immediately understands what's happening to you. It is a lifesaver, you can cling to her in case of serious problems, you know that you are always there for each other. He does not know all the stages of your story, which is why his dispassionate and objective opinion is very useful!
- Laura, the wise friend: more experienced than you, she guides and encourages you. It gives you an example and helps you to become a better person. Present in difficult moments as in those of joy, it is like a beacon that illuminates your way.
- Manuela, the well of ideas: you confront each other, discuss serious and useless things for hours, do not give each other respite and continually enrich yourselves. When you split up, you think for a long time about the conversation you had with her. And you just want to start it again!
Sometimes, it can happen to find all these people gathered in one ... it will be, then, your best friend!
Who are your mere acquaintances?
- Carla, her shopping friend: you go shopping with her, you lend her clothes and wait for the latest trend she discovered on her last trip to Sydney to reveal to you. Okay, you really appreciate her fashion side, but you you also realize that you don't have much else to share with her!
- Maddalena, the bomb: she is a nice girl, brilliant, funny… she is really perfect. Her company is very pleasant and you feel like you're one of the select few in her harem. But it's weird, you never call her when you're with your boyfriend. As if you fear she might devour him. Jealous? No, but wary, yes. !
- Cristina, your colleague: in the office, her humor and her slightly heavy jokes make you laugh with laughter, you love chatting with her during your coffee break. But when you organize a lunch with friends, you never invite her. You don't dare admit it, but sometimes you feel a little ashamed for her.
- Veronica, the Siamese: you both adore Desperate Housewives you don't miss an episode of, they both love Jude Law, you take salsa classes together and help each other when the other's babysitter is sick ... however, not you can consider her a friend. Something is missing: perhaps complicity, the real one.
- Sara, the girlfriend of: she is the woman of your boyfriend's best friend. She is nice and you often spend time together: Sunday brunch, weekends in the countryside, wedding receptions ... But you have neither the instinct nor the desire to call her just for the pleasure of talking to her. In reality, you never discuss personal things and, besides your two men, you don't have much else in common, even if you have fun when you go out together.
Good to know
- Duration is not necessarily a guarantee of true friendship. It happens that people have been dating for a long time, more out of habit than out of true affection.
- It is often said that true friends recognize each other in difficult times. This is, at the same time, true and a little too comfortable. Sometimes you can feel much more supported by a stranger than by a person who is very close and too involved in what we are experiencing. True friends also recognize each other because they know sincerely rejoice in our happiness.
- To find out if the other is a true friend or not, the Anglo-Saxons have fun asking this question: "Would you help me carry the body of a person I murdered"? A little radical, but effective!
