1.
acquaintance; personal knowledge of someone
Having met someone in person and being able to recognize them. Almost always used with ある or ない to indicate whether one knows someone personally.
彼とは面識がない。
I don't know him personally.
面識のある方に紹介された。
I was introduced by someone I already knew.
被害者と容疑者の間には面識がなかったとされている。
It is said that the victim and the suspect did not know each other personally.
Almost always appears in the patterns 面識がある (to know someone personally) and 面識がない (to not know someone personally). Rarely used outside these fixed patterns.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 面識がある (to be personally acquainted with)
- 面識がない (to not know someone personally)
- 面識のある人 (a person one knows)
USAGE NOTE:
This is a somewhat formal word frequently seen in news reports and police contexts. In casual speech, 知り合い (acquaintance) or 会ったことがある (to have met before) are more natural.