One of these verbs promises a conversation happened. The other doesn't promise anything at all.
"Approach" describes only moving toward or contacting a person, with no guarantee of what follows. "Strike up" describes successfully beginning a conversation with them. Approaching does not entail that a conversation was struck up.
The weaker claim vs. the stronger one
Approach is the weaker, more neutral claim — it can end in a conversation, a brush-off, or nothing at all. Strike up is the stronger claim that the conversation actually got underway.
A sentence describing someone walking over and being ignored should use approach, not strike up, because no conversation actually began.
Attempt vs. success, in the same scene
"He approached the panelist after the talk, but she was already deep in another conversation and he never got a word in" — contact attempted, nothing began.
Want to learn "Strike Up" in depth?
Lyra Practice teaches advanced non-native professionals the nuance of high-value expressions like this one, then has you practice using them in realistic work scenarios.
Start learning for free →"She approached the new hire's desk and struck up a conversation about the onboarding checklist" — both verbs correctly used for two different moments in the same scene.
"I approached three people at the mixer before I actually struck up a conversation with the fourth" — three failed attempts, one success, and the two verbs mark the difference precisely.
Practice scenarios
Practice using strike up in situations like:
- describing walking over to someone with no guarantee anything came of it
- narrating a contact attempt that went nowhere, followed by one that succeeded
- describing both the approach and the successful conversation in the same story
Useful practice phrases:
- "I approached [someone], but..."
- "I struck up a conversation with... after approaching them."
- "I approached [several people] before I struck up a conversation with..."
Approach only promises proximity. Strike up promises a conversation actually happened.
Keep the two apart, and a story of three failed attempts and one success stays exactly that precise.
Lyra Practice helps advanced non-native English professionals learn the nuance of high-value workplace expressions and practice using them in realistic scenarios, so their English sounds natural, precise, and senior at work. Try Lyra Practice.