[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by fglorca

Meeting a person for the first time:
I want to meet new people in Italy:
Quiero conocer a gente nueva en Italia.

Is there a different verb we can use here instead of 'conocer'? No, I think that's the only one.

Meeting a friend:
I want to meet John for a coffee tomorrow:
Quiero ver a Juan mañana para tomar un café.
Quiero encontarme con Juan mañana para tomar un café. (Correct, but for me, this would imply a random event: if I see Juan, I'll ask him to have a coffee with me... this might be a regional preference though).
You may also say "quiero tomar un café con Juan mañana"/"quiero ir mañana a tomar un café con Juan".


Meeting a person at the airport:
I have to meet her at the airport:
Tengo que recogerla en el aeropuerto. (This sentence and the next one are used if you have to pick someone up arriving to the airport.)
Tengo que recibirla en el aeropuerto. (Or, "tengo que ir a recibirla al aeropuerto")
Tengo que encontrarme con ella en el aeropuerto. (In this sentence, the other person is not necessarily descending from a plane, but you both chose this location to meet each other.)
Another possible sentence: "Tengo que verla en el aeropuerto". This one is similar to the last one, because you don't necessarily have to take the person out of the airport, but it may be used to pick someone up --just for this one, you definitely must have met them before.)


Does it make a difference in each case if I don't know this person?
No, because the activity is focused on doing something else than merely being introduced to them.

I hope I didn't make it all more confusing.