знакомить vs знакомиться
znakomít' vs znakómit'sya — introduce vs get acquainted
Register: neutral
What it really means
Знакомить is transitive: someone introduces one person to another. Знакомиться is reflexive: a person gets acquainted with someone or something.
Examples in natural speech
Познакомь меня с братом.
Introduce me to your brother.
Мы познакомились на работе.
We met at work.
Она знакомит гостей друг с другом.
She introduces the guests to one another.
Рад с вами познакомиться.
Pleased to meet you.
Учитель знакомит класс с правилом.
The teacher introduces the class to the rule.
Common mistakes
Do not say *я знакомлю друга when you mean that you are meeting him for the first time: знакомить needs a person or material that you introduce to someone. Say я знакомлюсь с другом or я знакомлю друга с коллегой, depending on who is meeting whom.
Memory tip
The -ся in знакомиться signals that the learner is the person acquiring the acquaintance; знакомить needs an introducer and usually two participants.
Frequently asked questions
Why does познакомиться mean “meet” although знакомиться is imperfective?
Познакомиться is the perfective partner of знакомиться and marks the completed first encounter. Мы познакомились на работе identifies where that encounter happened.
Which case follows знакомиться с кем-то?
Use с plus instrumental: познакомиться с коллегой, знакомиться с новыми людьми. The same pattern works for becoming familiar with material: знакомиться с документами.
Can знакомить be used with things rather than people?
Yes. Знакомить студентов с программой means introduce students to the programme; it does not mean they are meeting it socially.
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