In Germany, friendship is much more a matter of feeling and affection.
Young boys and girls form deeply sensitive alliances, walk and talk together - not so much to polish their wits as to share their hopes, fears, and ideals, and to join in a kind of mutual discovery of each other's own inner life. Within the family, the closest relationship over a lifetime is between brothers and sisters. German men and women find in their closest friends among the same sex the loyalty of a brother or the devotion of a sister. English friendships follow a still different pattern. Their basis is shared activity. They may share literary interests, serve on a committee, enjoy sports together or share a mutual love of walking. Close English friendships may be of the same sex or of mixed gender; friends may be found in two people, two couples or even a small group.