Every day we meet people. Some might be mere acquaintances while others we may put in effort to get to know them. Now, while getting to know people it could involve talking stage, going on dates, calls, and chatting.
If asked about your relationship with the person, you could say, ‘we are getting to know each other’. But is that all you can say? There are other ways you can let people know that the status of your relationship is not that serious.
I’m this article, we have written down 15 other better words you can use to say that you are getting to know a person. It’s good to have more words in your vocabulary so that you can be versatile.
Select any word from the under-listed depending on how it suits your situation.
15 alternatives to say instead of “getting to know each other”
- Meet
- Acquaint
- Converse
- Small-talk
- Familiarize
- Accustom
- Chat
- Discourse
- Gossip
- Chitchat
- Natter
- Schmooze
- Banter
- Pleasantry
- Babble/Prattle
Meet
‘Meet’ is a good replacement for saying that you are getting to know each other. You use the word ‘meet’ when you want to talk about arranging to appear before someone.
Usually when you ‘meet’ a person, you guys either talk about something personal or business or even abstract. Thus, whenever you happen to come into a person’s company you learn something new about them.
Whether a stranger or a familiar person, next time you wish to say that you are getting to know them, you can use the word ‘meet’ especially if you are coming into physical contact with them.
Acquaint
‘Acquaint’ is another synonymous and better word to use while speaking about getting to know a person. You use the word ‘acquaint’ when you are making someone aware of things about a person or you are been made aware of things about someone else.
‘Acquaint’ is also used better in situations where you want to get yourself familiar information about a person. The extent to which you ‘acquaint’ yourself with a person is slight.
This is because an acquaintance has to deal with getting to know little about a person you didn’t know at all. The strength of getting to know a person here is low and your knowledge of the person is shallow.
Converse
When you ‘converse’ with a person, you are getting to know them better. This is because you engage them in a conversation and whilst speaking with them they get to reveal things about themselves to that you.
When you ‘converse’ with a person, it could happen through any means. Whether it’s virtual, physical, or audio. The aim is that information is exchanged, and knowledge is added.
While conversing with a person, you exchange thoughts and ideas. From the way they speak, you can learn more about them.
Thus, when you say you ‘converse’ with a person, you are actually getting to know them.
Small-talk
When you have small talk with someone, you make casual conversation with them that lets you know more about them and what they do.
The chitchat is usually centered around subjects that are not important as a way to kill time. Probably the person you and the person you are speaking with are waiting for something more important to begin so you ‘small-talk’ to kill time.
An instance where you can use small-talk to explain getting to know someone is when you say, ‘I made small talk with the pretty lady during the red carpet until the main event started’.
Familiarize
When you familiarize someone with something, you give them information that makes them gain knowledge of you. That means you tell them things that make them get to know you better.
Also, you familiarize yourself with a person when you tell them things that helps them understand you better. The word familiarize is a good alternative to use when you want to say that you are getting to know someone.
For instance, you can say, ‘I spent a good amount of time speaking with Frank because I wanted to familiarize myself with him’ or ‘The few minutes I spent familiarizing myself with her has let me know so much I need to know about her’.
Accustom
Coming from different backgrounds, when you use the word ‘accustomed’ to describe getting to know someone, it simply means that you are making them accept your behavior or character as normal.
Perhaps through constant interaction with them, you have made them know things about you that make them accept you as usual. Accustom is a good word to use when you want to say that you are getting to know each other.
You can simply say, ‘I spent the summer with my boyfriend’s family because I wanted to accustom myself to their culture’ or ‘If you want to know better about a person, spend time with them and get yourself accustomed to their way of life’.
Chat
You can say that you are chatting with a person instead of you are getting to know them; they actually mean the same thing. When you chat with a person, you talk to them in an informal way.
This is a very common term to use amongst Gen Zs due to the presence of social media platforms. Thus, when you say you are chatting with a person, most people simply assume that you are getting to know them.
Examples of how you can use chat to communicate that you are getting to know someone – ‘I’ve been chatting with him for over two months, and I can tell he is a nice guy’, ‘From the way she responds to my chats, I can tell that she is respectful and decent’, etc.
Discourse
The word discourse is usually associated with formality. When a person discourses with someone, they are getting to know more about themselves in a formal setting.
A discourse usually happens over a long period of time, and it normally involves a serious discussion in writing or speech. For instance, a person can say, ‘I am having a political discourse’ and it could be interpreted that you are bonding with a person over a political discussion.
Other ways you can use the word discourse include – ‘My discourse with the professor on gender inequality revealed admirable qualities about her’ or ‘I had a discourse with the UN syndicate, and it opened my eyes about SDG goals’.
Gossip
Despite how negative it sounds; gossip can also be used by people to bond. People gossip when they want to say kind or unkind things about another person’s private life.
It may not be nice things that they have to say but it allows the people the privilege to get to know each other. For instance, you could say, ‘I learn a lot about her when we gossip at the salon’ to say that you are getting to know someone.
For instance, you could say – ‘I met Tacha at the salon, and we caught up on lots of gossip’ or ‘While making my nails at the salon, I heard lots of gossips that made me not entrust my secrets with anyone’.
Chitchat
Chitchat is a word used to describe conversations that take place in an informal setting. Most people get to know each other from idle conversations about things that are not important.
Chitchat is a great word to use instead of saying that you are getting to know a person. You could say, ‘I’m having a friendly chitchat with our new neighbor’.
Other sentence examples include – ‘While having a chitchat with Deshauna, I learn that her dad was at the hospital’, ‘I realized that I was actually compatible with Ted when I engaged him in a chitchat’, etc.
Natter
Natter is another great word to use instead of getting to know each other. When you natter, you talk to a person for a long time. The discussion usually centers around unimportant things.
So next time you wish to say that you are getting to know someone, you can simply say that you had a good natter with the person.
For instance, you could say, ‘Well, it was an idle natter with Valerie but I learned a lot in the process’, or ‘It is nice to your family and engage them in a natter cause you never know what you will learn about them’.
Schmooze
You can use the word schmooze when you are talking to someone in an informal way. Schmooze is a good replacement word for getting to know a person.
During schmoozing you engage someone in a friendly discussion with the aim of convincing them to like. When a person schmoozes, he tries to gain an advantage over others and get them to do what he/she wants.
For instance, one can say, ‘That guy is just a schmooze, he just tried to get me to invest in his project.’
Banter
Banter is another good replacement word you can say instead of getting to know each other. It occurs when a person exchanges friendly remarks with another person.
Through those friendly remarks, they can get to know each other. People also banter when they exchange jokes. You can only joke with someone you are comfortable or familiar with.
Thus, when you banter with a person, you are getting to know them. For instance, you could say – ‘Having harmless banter with friends lets you know what is going on in their lives’, ‘I bumped into an old classmate and got invited to her wedding during our banter’, etc.
Pleasantry
Although exchanging can be regarded as merely being polite, it is also another word to use instead of getting to know each other. When you exchange pleasantry with a person, you exchange friendly remarks with the person out of politeness.
This is usually done most times before a main event. It is recognizing the presence of a person and trying to get small talk in with them before you guys settle down for a main event.
For instance, you can say, ‘I exchanged pleasantries with a James before the guest of honor arrived’.
Babble / Prattle
You can use babble and prattle interchangeably as replacements for saying ‘getting to know each’ because they mean one and the same thing.
Babble is mostly associated with babies. This is because they make unintelligible sounds that are difficult to understand. It is not a bad thing to say you are getting to know a baby when you babble alongside him/her.
Prattle, on the other hand, is used when you are discussing with someone about so many things that seem unimportant. While the discussion is going on, you guys exchange information that lets you know things about each other.
Instances where you can use babble or prattle – ‘The baby babbled as I bonded with her’ or ‘She prattles a lot, but it lets me know all I need to know about her’.
In summary
We meet people almost every day of our lives whether physically or online. The truth is meeting a new person is inevitable. When you do, you make an attempt to know such a person better.
While you can simply say that you are getting to know such an individual, there are certain words that are less basic and that qualify the process more.
So, in this article, we have listed fifteen (15) other words you can use instead of getting to know each other, to help you out!