What's the difference between: convivial, congenial, genial, cordial, amiable, affable, sociable?

As an English native and a former journalist with a lot of writing experience, I would use them based on the feeling of the sentence or the subject. They're similar but if you really want to pin down a specific feeling, atmosphere and language, you might pick one over the other. I wouldn't expect to use almost any of them in day to day conversation, unless it's with somone with a taste for a broad range of words (perhaps a fellow writer or reader, an English teacher or someone who enjoys historic British media where these terms would have been used a lot more in times past. Most are similar but there's a different feeling or context to each one and I'll try to explain them: **Convivial** \- an old fashioned word not used very much, usually used when describing a venue or classy restaurant. '**The Grosvenor Hotel has a well-funished bar with a delightful convivial atmosphere**'. I would never use this in conversation but I might use it if I was writing a description for a luxury brand that likes to appear traditional and high status. It suggests a fun, grown up atmosphere, somewhere James Bond or Sherlock Holmes might be found. Alternative simple term: **Good fun atmosphere** **Congenial** \- means a nice person to be around, good company, pleasant, never any issues. Or a hospitable environment where you feel more comfortable. '**Oh I ran into your new colleague James at the airport lounge on the way back from the conference, he was very congenial company over a couple of beers.'** Alternative simple term: **Enjoyable company** **Genial** \- friendly and cheerful. **'Our hotel concierge Jessica was bubbly and full of energy and genial no matter the time of day**'. Alternative simple term: **Cheerful and easygoing** **Cordial** \- polite manners and kindness, but more like that a pub landlord or bar owner shows to everyone, rather than a friendship between people. '**I spoke to the police detective, he was very cordial, and accepted my offer of a cup of tea while he took my witness statement.'** Alternative simple term: **Polite and friendly.** **Amiable** \- friendly, good natured, easy to be around '**Catherine was very amiable**'. Can also be used as a description. **'He was amiable to the idea of a camping holiday in the summer.'** Not a word used frequently or often, quite old fashioned. Alternative simple term: **good company, friendly.** Affable - means friendly, good company, good conversation. '**I was stuck at the airport for four hours due to the snow. Luckily I was there with Ben who's very affable and the hours flew by.'** Alternative simple term: **Likeable** **Socialble** \- friendly and extroverted, enjoys hosting and chatting, telling stories and introducing people. 'Have you met Derek's wife Gemma? She's very sociable, we're delighted she'll be joining us for dinner later.' Alternative simple term: **Friendly**

I think, as iamcarlgauss said, that they’re all basically interchangeable. The one exception to that, in my opinion, is “cordial”: to me, that one connotes an obligatory politeness with some degree of distance to it. You might describe a relationship with a coworker — one you wouldn’t hang out with *after* work, but with whom you get along well *at* work — as cordial. A receptionist at a doctor’s office or a waiter at a good restaurant might be described as cordial.

Honestly... nothing. If you're a non-native trying to figure out which one to use, you can pretty much just pick one of them randomly. If you're a native looking to get into the nuances, I guess that could be a discussion but realistically all of those words are used completely interchangeably. "Convivial" and "genial" are a bit more rare, and "sociable" has other meanings, but if you mean something like "He greeted me with a handshake and an amiable smile", then they're all pretty much the same.