familiar to vs. familiar with

For the first lesson this month, I am going to look at the difference between familiar to and familiar with. These two expressions have almost identical meanings only what you are emphasizing is different. They are both saying that someone has knowledge about something, they know about it.

familiar to -------->

This means that the person after familiar to knows about something.

topic + familiar to + person

I'm sorry you're name isn't familiar to me, have we met?

Magic: The Gathering is really familiar to me, I used to play it in high school.

<-----familiar b="" with="">

This means that the person BEFORE familiar with knows about what comes AFTER.

person + familiar with + topic

Are you familiar with computers?

I'm familiar with the Korean writing system, I used to live in Seoul.

She's familiar with unarmed combat, she's done judo since she was 5.

Have a good week,

Phil