close / affiliated
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close to someone
To have a close personal or emotional relationship with a person. Refers to friends, family, or close confidants.
Er hat die traurige Nachricht zuerst den ihm nahestehenden Personen mitgeteilt.
He first shared the sad news with the people close to him.
affiliated with something
To have an ideological, political, or subject-matter closeness to an organization, party, or idea. One shares its views or supports it.
Die Stiftung gilt als der Regierungspartei nahestehend.
The foundation is considered to be affiliated with the governing party.
The word is made up of 'nahe' (near/close) and 'stehend' (present participle of 'stehen', to stand). Literally, it describes someone or something that 'stands close' to a person or thing.
Ihm nahestehende Kollegen unterstützten ihn bei dem Projekt.
Colleagues close to him supported him with the project.
The adjective 'nahestehend' is always used with the dative. It is 'jemandem nahestehen' (to be close to someone, for people) or 'einer Sache nahestehen' (to be close to/affiliated with something, for organizations or ideas).
Sie steht ihrer Schwester sehr nahe.
She is very close to her sister.
The word 'nahestehend' belongs more to written language or a more formal style. It is often used in official statements, news, or reports.
Die Ermittlungen konzentrieren sich auf das dem Opfer nahestehende Umfeld.
The investigations are focusing on the circle close to the victim.
In a personal context, 'nahestehend' is often combined with nouns such as 'Personen' (people), 'Verwandte' (relatives), 'Angehörige' (family members/next of kin), or 'Freunde' (friends).
Im Trauerfall werden zuerst die nahestehenden Angehörigen informiert.
In the event of a death, the close family members are informed first.
You can tell whether personal or ideological closeness is meant from the word it refers to. If 'nahestehend' refers to a person, it is about an emotional relationship. If it refers to an organization or idea, it means a closeness in terms of views or content.
Er vertraut nur seinen engsten, ihm nahestehenden Freunden.
He trusts only his closest friends, the ones close to him.
connected
Here, verbunden describes the feeling of a close personal or emotional bond. Nahestehend describes someone as a close friend, relative, or confidant. Both words are possible for the same relationship; verbunden emphasizes the felt bond more, while nahestehend emphasizes the person’s closeness.
Leas langjährige Freundin ist ihr besonders nahestehend.
Lea’s longtime friend is particularly close to her.
Lea fühlt sich ihrer langjährigen Freundin eng verbunden.
Lea feels closely connected to her longtime friend.
