60 Questions to Get to Know Someone (Without Making It Awkward)

The best questions to get to know someone are open-ended, easy to answer and about things they actually care about: what they’re into, how they spend their time, what makes them laugh. Start light, then go a little deeper as the conversation does.

Below are 60 questions to get to know someone, sorted by who you’re talking to: a new friend, a crush, a roommate, someone you want to know on a deeper level, or a whole group. Pick the ones that sound like you, because the best question is one you’re genuinely curious about.

Already close with your bestie? Skip to our questions to ask your best friend. This list is for people you don’t know well yet.

How to ask questions without it feeling like an interview

A list of questions can turn into a pop quiz fast. A few habits keep it feeling like a real conversation:

• Answer your own question. After they answer, tell them yours. A conversation goes both ways.
• Ask a follow-up. “Wait, why?” and “How did you get into that?” are the two best questions ever invented.
• Listen for the thing to ask next. If they mention a sister, a sport or a show, ask about that instead of jumping to the next question on your list.
• Don’t fire off five in a row. One question, a real answer, then let it go wherever it goes.
• Let people pass. If they don’t want to answer, say “no worries” and move on. That’s how people learn you’re safe to talk to.

Questions to get to know a new friend

Easy to answer, hard to mess up. These work in the lunch line, at practice, in a group chat or on the first day of anything.

1. What’s the best thing you’ve watched or listened to lately?
2. Are you a morning person or a night person?
3. What do you do with a totally free afternoon?
4. What’s your go-to snack?
5. Which class do you actually look forward to?
6. Do you have a pet, or one you wish you had?
7. What’s something you could talk about for an hour?
8. What’s the best thing that happened to you this week?
9. Where’s your favorite place to hang out around here?
10. What’s an app you can’t live without?
11. What’s a hobby you’ve always wanted to try?
12. What’s a small thing that always makes your day better?

Questions to get to know your crush

Keep it light and curious, and answer your own questions too. If you want more, we have a whole list of questions to ask your crush.

13. What’s the last thing that made you laugh really hard?
14. What’s the best concert, game or event you’ve ever been to?
15. What’s your most-played song right now?
16. If you could instantly be great at one thing, what would it be?
17. What’s a movie you’ll watch every time it’s on?
18. What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken, or the one you’re dreaming about?
19. What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
20. What do you want to try this year that you’ve never done?

Questions for a new roommate

Going to college, camp or a shared room on a family trip? These make the awkward “so how do we do this” talk a lot easier.

21. Are you an early bird or do you stay up late?
22. How tidy do you like a shared space to be?
23. Do you like it quiet when you study, or do you need music?
24. What’s a pet peeve I should know about?
25. How do you feel about sharing things like snacks, chargers or clothes?
26. What helps you recharge: being with people or being alone?
27. When something bugs you, do you like to talk right away or cool off first?
28. What would make our room feel like home to you?

Deep questions to get to know someone better

Save these for when you already feel comfortable, like a late-night talk, a long drive or a walk. Nobody has to answer one they don’t want to.

29. What’s something you’re proud of that most people don’t know about?
30. What’s something you’ve changed your mind about in the last year?
31. Who’s someone who changed the way you see things?
32. What does a perfect day look like to you?
33. What’s something you’re working on getting better at?
34. What do you value most in a friend?
35. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?
36. What’s a fear you’d like to get past?
37. What’s a memory you’d relive if you could?
38. What do you want your life to look like in ten years?
39. What’s something you wish people asked you about more?
40. When do you feel most like yourself?

Funny questions to get to know someone

Perfect for when things are quiet and you need a laugh. Funny questions also show you someone’s whole personality fast.

41. What would your walk-up song be?
42. What’s the weirdest food combo you secretly love?
43. Which TV character is secretly the most like you?
44. What’s the most useless talent you have?
45. What’s your most-used emoji, and what does it say about you?
46. If you had to eat one food forever, what would it be?
47. What’s the weirdest thing you believed as a kid?
48. What would the title of your autobiography be?
49. Which animal would be the worst roommate?
50. What’s a totally random fact you know?

Quick icebreaker questions for a group

Going around a circle at a club, team meeting or new class? Pick one and let everyone answer in a sentence or two.

51. What’s the story behind your name, if there is one?
52. What’s one thing on your bucket list?
53. Pizza, tacos or pasta for the rest of your life?
54. What’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
55. Which superpower would be the most useful at school?
56. What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten?
57. Which three things would you bring to a deserted island?
58. What’s your favorite thing about where you live?
59. What’s one thing you’re really looking forward to this month?
60. What’s a skill you’d love to learn in a weekend?

How do you keep the conversation going after the questions?

Questions get you started. What keeps things going is curiosity about the answers.

• Find the overlap. If you both like the same show, band or sport, you’ve got a topic that can last all week.
• Remember what they said. Bringing it up later (“Did your game go okay?”) shows you were listening, and that’s what makes people want to talk to you again.
• Switch to doing things. Talking is easier when you’re doing something together. Our list of This or That questions and would you rather questions turns a stalled chat into a game.
• Be okay with silence. A few quiet seconds is normal, not a failure.

If starting conversations makes you nervous in general, it’s a skill you can build. Here’s how to make new friends, and what to do if you tend to feel awkward around people you don’t know.

Questions to skip with someone you just met

Getting to know someone is a slow build. Some topics are better saved until you’ve built trust, or left alone unless they bring them up:

• Anything about their body, weight or looks.
• Their family problems, money or health.
• Past relationships and breakups.
• Gossip about other people.

If they open up about something heavy on their own, listen first. You don’t have to fix anything.

Questions people ask