Help settle a debate

[Stopfarting]

What's the difference between being a girlfriend and being a partner ( no marriage )

Living together?

In most cases, I'd say living together.

I would say living together. But I wouldn't care if people used the words interchangeably

No difference really, I suppose ‘partner’ sounds more like a long term relationship.

Living together and it can also be a time spent together imo. If someone has been a couple for a decade I would say they are partners rather than bf and gf

Girlfriend - still relatively casual even if the emotion is serious, either person can walk away without needing to untangle things

Partner - lives entwined, probably living together/sharing financial responsibility for things/possibly children

Obviously exceptions could be made for either but I think they'd be fair assumptions to make without additional detail beyond "Claire is my partner/girlfriend"

I would say some sort of shared stake in the relationship such as living together, joint bank account, shared child or similar.

What do you think?

Everyone on here seems to have a partner rather than a boyfriend. Even after a couple of dates. Not sure why.

They are basically interchangeable as far as I am concerned. Partner can suggest it is more serious and a level of permanence, but I wouldn't assume it was a casual relationship if girlfriend was used instead.

Longer-term commitment / expectation of staying together forever. Probably living together but not necessarily.

After 10 or 20 years, girlfriend would sound weirdly casual and distant.

OTOH partner, after only a few months, sounds odd too. (You get people on here discussing 'DPs' who are clearly fairly new boyfriends and have no shared commitments).

So I think partner is roughly equivalent to fiance or husband. Sounds rushed before 6 months or a year but after 2-3 years, any BF/GF you've stayed with and intend to stay with, seems likely to have become a partner.

I’d say age. After a certain age I’d say being referred to or referring to oneself as a ‘girlfriend’ sounds a bit ridiculous or disrespectful

Living together makes all the difference in my opinion.

Long term. I know people together a few years yet they don't live together. They and I would consider them "partners".

Also age is a factor isn't it? Anyone over 30/35 saying "boyfriend/girlfriend" sounds a bit juvenile and I would probably skip straight to partner in those instances.

I always call mine my boyfriend. Both in our mid twenties, we have been together 5 years, engaged and share a house and a dog but saying fiance or partner always makes me feel as if I sound like I'm trying to show off

There's no strict definition. Partner tends to imply that you're heavily involved and committed to each other and your lives are entertwined. S you're probably living together for example.

Some people find girlfriend/boyfriend to sound abit juvenile.

Combined finances, working together to achieve a joint goal.

You're dating when you have your own lives, but spend time together, even if you live together in my opinion, if you both pay your share of the bills and do as you please with your own money.

Your partner is exactly that, your partner in life, you're working together, supporting eachother, consulting eachother, you're a team and you are equals in that team.

Also, the problem with 'girlfriend' after a certain age (maybe 35 or 40), is that it sounds like 'bit on the side', especially if you don't know the person well, so whether or not they are married etc.

'Ladyfriend' seems a little old-fashioned, so I think I'd just use their name, or say friend, at that point.

I'd say living together, or long term so maybe 4+ years together.

I think girlfriend means a casual relationship I.e. early stage with no commitments together.

Age, I'm married but if I wasn't I'd feel too old to have a boyfriend, it's been a long time since I dated boys. I don't think it's the equal sharing of things, being equal, a team etc because I see a lot of people refer to their cocklodgers as partners on here

Like others partner makes me think of a longer term relationship, but it’s not something I’m too fussed about. I think different people have different preferences as to which term they like to use.

However I used to have a friend who used to use it right away, she once introduced me to her ‘partner’ who she’d been with for a week! Sounded very formal but hey whatever works

Like most pp for partner I'd say longer term relationship, living together with some shared responsibilities be it children, finances, utilities etc

I remember when partner became a word being used, probably the 90's. I've never got used to it. Boyfriend, fiancé or husband are the only phrases I would use, even if courting for years. Partner seems really contrived and impersonal. I realise I might have missed the point of the OPs question.

There’s no formal difference. I suppose I start saying ‘partner’ at around the time I begin to wonder why they aren’t married.