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面識 (めんしき) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Meanings 1
noun
acquaintance ; personal knowledge of someone
Refers to knowing someone by face or having met them personally, not just knowing of them. Often used in negative forms like 面識がない to indicate no prior personal contact.
人ひと
だけ
が
パーティー
に
招しょう
待たい
さ
れ
た
。
Only people who were personally acquainted were invited to the party.
Kanji 識 discriminating, know, write Similar words 知し り 合あ い 知り合い is a more casual, general term for an acquaintance or someone you know, while 面識 emphasizes the fact of having met face-to-face.
顔かお 見み 知し り 顔見知り is similar but slightly more casual and implies recognition by face, often without deep interaction. 面識 is more formal and often used in business or official contexts.
Etymology Compound of 面 (face) and 識 (knowledge, acquaintance), literally 'face-knowledge'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the meaning has been stable in modern Japanese.
