A somewhat literary or old-fashioned word for a person one knows; not as casual as 友達. Often implies a connection through shared experience or mutual acquaintance.
I unexpectedly met an old acquaintance on my travels.
He has many acquaintances in this area.
Standard kanji spelling for this word.
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 知る辺.
Compound of 知る (shiru, 'to know') and 辺 (he/be, 'vicinity, person'), literally 'a person one knows'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.