German lesson:
Friend = Freund, literally. But it's not an exact equivalent.
Mein Freund = My Boyfriend
Mein Kumpel = My close friend I like to hang with
Ein Freund von mir = A close friend
Ein Bekannter = an acquaintance literally, but if I were English I'd call them "a friend"

Things that might call mild confusion when you socialise with Germans:
- You feel like they're oddly reluctant to call you a friend and even call you "an acquaintance" in front of others as if that's not rude
- you call them a friend and they think you want to hang out loads

This may be regionally different! Apologies to any misrepresented Germans, please do correct me, I would love to know.

BTW "mein Freund" can also man "my friend" but it is typically a close friendship and if you say it as a German in German to Germans you know people might tease you by understanding it in the romantic sense.

And yes we do learn to use the English words in other cultural contexts of course! But it's often a bit confusing for Germans who speak English but aren't culturally embedded yet to that extent.

So SOMETIMES it might be that a German calls you a friend and its a really big deal, just pay attention to how they act about it, I guess. Don't use it to excuse wishful thinking of course.

There are loads of other words for degrees of social and emotional attachment in German and they vary regionally but I think it's a good rule of thumb that the meaning of "Freund" is not always directly "Friend" as in the UK (might also vary there)

So in literal translation from German:
"can I bring my friend Pete" = is my buddy Pete welcome
"Can I bring my friend" = is my steady lover welcome
"Can I bring a friend" = is my buddy welcome
"Can I bring an acquaintance" = can I bring a friend

This has some potential for confusion. Sometimes positively.

One of the things that's charming to me is that since "friend" means less in UK English than German, when people want to express closer friendship they actually have to make an effort and say "I love you" or maybe "I truly enjoy your company" where Germans just call you "friend"

Can also confirm that it's possible for a German to spend time with a British person regularly and one of them thinks they're dating and taking it slow because the other is for some reason a bit strange about intimacy, while the other thinks they've found a nice new buddy

And it actually hurts my brain but I think it works both ways.

Rule of thumb, there's a common German cultural concept of "friendship" being a finite substance, one of the highest cultural values, and breaking it is a massive deal, so you don't call someone a friend unless you mean to have their back for life no matter what.

It's often stronger than family. Many Germans will not expect to have more than three friends. They'll have MANY acquaintances who are important and highly valued. But having many friends may even be seen as lacking in commitment.

And it's nearly purely a translation error. They love you no less. They just possibly might not call you friend yet, or ever.

Unless they're aware of this and then they may say "we are friends now" - and still seem a little intense possibly!

Of course my only point of reference for Germans under 40 is my niece so it might have mellowed

She thinks I'm vintage because I have Alka Seltzer

Fair assessment imo

I now sign off, my friends, and leave the Comedian Harmonists to summarise the concept in this classic piece. Be excellent to each other, including acquaintances