What's a friend?

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I'm not sure of the difference between a friend, a best friend and an acquaintance. Because for me, a friend is someone you truly want to spend time with, and want to please. But I seem to have less friends than my classmates. So I asked my friend about it and she listed some of her friends where most of them, she only talks to once or twice a week. Isn't that just an acquaintance? And what would a best friend be in that case? ( <--- what's up with this guy...!?)

I have the same problem. I used to think all my acquiantances were my friends ar a young age and at an older age I thought the opposite.

A friend is somebody you like to hang out with, and someone whom you could trust, in general.

An acquaintance is someone whom you see every day and talk to sometimes. However, you don't really "hang out" together. And you might not be sure if you could trust the person.

A best friend is someone whom you confide your deepest secrets to. You trust this person with your life.

I wonder if a language spoken only by aspies would have a word for ‘friend’

Depending on how you define "wanting to please", I'd imagine that a friend is someone you don't have to please except where it really counts: keeping in touch, letting them know if you're fine, and knowing when to blow crap off to have a laugh.

yes, when i was around your age or a tiny bit younger, i remember circling the pictures of classmates in the yearbook who i considered to be my 'friend'. funny, if you said 'hi' to me more than once, if you knew my name, things like that, you were in! i don't think, that fit the common definition of ACQUAINTANCE, whatever it may be. and for the next couple years i started slimming them down less and less, and i stopped that circle practice my sophomore year of high school.

i imagine it would have words for different levels of friend, besides the general word: concepts like like acquaintance...close friend, closest friend, former friend, someone you want to get to know better, someone with whom the friendship is not mutual...??

One of my BIG mistakes in life is/was to regard people as friends (obviously) before they did. I got very hurt by this many many times, and each time it happened, I would promise myself not to let it happen again but it just happened. I think now I'm older, I'm far more cautious and keep a good distance from others. I've always been better off on my own. That's the way I like it and people hurt you too much.

I had fun reading all your comments. Most of us do have a similar definition of friends and acquaintances and stuff now. According to the definition we got, I have 2 best friends, 3 friends and around 8 acquaintances. Would that be considered as very few or a lot or...

i think that's a good, manageable number! having all these connections, tens of people asking you do do things with them, wanting your advice or presence and having to reject or accept each one, ain't nice, especially for aspies (not that i would know from experience, lol). just what i think.

how long have you had those friends? i think i would have 1 best friend (maybe...) 2-3 friends and an unknown # of acquaintances.

I know one of my best friends since I'm 4 but I have only became friends/ besties/ acquaintances with the others since last year (about)

i've never made friends with anyone when i was 4, and when i was 13 the 'oldest' friends i had i met when i was 11. hope it goes well with them...

Thx