# close-knit group of friends



## 123xyz

I was wondering, how would one translate "close-knit group of friends" in Hungarian. Would it be perhaps "szoros csoport barátok" (just a wild guess)?

Thank you in advance


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## Zsanna

Hello 123xyz, 

I suppose it would also depend on the context because there is no word by word translation that offers itself easily. _Szoros csoport barátok_ would not go unfortunately. (It would be too easy!)
A bit relaxed way of approaching it (but one that sounds perfectly natural) could be *közeli barátok* (csoportja -> if absolutely necessary for the translation). 

"Close(ly?)-knit" could also be translated in another way (that I can think of immediately) but then the whole expression would be longer: olyan barátok csoportja, akiket *közeli szálak fűznek egymáshoz* or *szorosan összetartozó* barátok (csoportja - again if absolutely necessary).


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## 123xyz

Thank you for your reply, Zsanna,

I didn't mention any context because I just wanted to know what the general expression was to refer to a circle of very close friends. I thought of "közeli barátok", but that just means "close friends" and somehow carries different connotations than "a close-knit group of friends". The former seems to imply that the friends are good friends but the latter seems to imply some sort of unity, though I may be wrong. 

It seems to me that the phrase "olyan barátok csoportja, akiket közeli szálak fűznek egymáshoz" is too long to sound natural in certain contexts, though I suppose it could work in others. All in all, the last option seems to render the meaning of "close-knit group of friends" the best, at least based on the literal translation. Now, we could put it into context to see if it works:

Sample sentence:

"Sustaining a close-knit group of friends can be challenging at times, as each of you tries to ensure that different personality types are happily incorporated into the group."

My attempt at translation:

"Néha lehet nehéz szorosan összetartozó barátok csoportját fenntartani, ahogyan mindegyik próbálja biztosítani, hogy a különböző személyiségek összehangoljanak."

Perhaps it would work better with "közeli barátok csoportja", though it does not mean the same thing.


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## gorilla

I would rephrase it quite much to align it to a more Hungarian-like sentence flow. An attempt:

Olykor a szoros baráti köröket is nehéz egyben tartani. Ilyenkor fontos, hogy mindenki törekedjen rá, hogy a különféle személyiségű barátok egyaránt jól érezzék magukat a csoportban.

Quite literal translation:
Even close groups of friends are sometimes hard to keep together. In these cases, it is important that everyone tries to ensure (aims at) that friends with different personalities all enjoy themselves in the group.


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## Zsanna

There is a bit of a logical error in 123's sample sentence (sustaining... is difficult _because_ every member (why _you_?) tries to ensure...? -> it should be easier like that, no?), but in any case, I like gorilla's "szoros baráti kör" as far as the point is concerned. 
Although, especially in a formal text, I could imagine my neutral expression used like 123 did it in his post no.3.

Another good example for how much difference it can make to translate an expression alone or the same in a sentence.


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