avoir besoin
To say to need in French, use avoir besoin.
avoir besoin is the everyday way to say you need something, as in J'ai besoin d'un livre, I need a book or J'ai besoin de me reposer, I need to rest.
What does it mean word for word?
avoir besoin de literally means to have need of.
Which one should you use?
nécessiter is a formal option, often used in written French, as in Cette situation nécessite une solution rapide.
How does it change in a sentence?
avoir besoin is almost always followed by de, which becomes d' before a vowel, to link it to what is needed. When the thing needed was already mentioned, en replaces it, as in en avoir besoin.
Did you know?
- The English verb 'aver', meaning to state or assert to be true, was borrowed into English from the Old French word avoir.
- While avoir besoin is the standard way to express need, the more formal nécessiter is almost exclusively used for inanimate objects or situations rather than people.
Examples in context
- Tu vas en avoir besoin.You're going to need it.en avoir besoin means to need it.Tatoeba #11603949 by Aiji, translation #3354146 by CK
- Tu vas avoir besoin d'aide.You're going to need help.avoir besoin d'aide means to need help.Tatoeba #7769855 by Aiji, translation #3357815 by CK
- Je vais avoir besoin de toi.I'm going to need you.avoir besoin de toi means to need you.Tatoeba #5833068 by Aiji, translation #4918933 by CK
- J'ai besoin d'un stylo.I need a pen.
- Cette mesure nécessite une révision immédiate.This measure requires immediate revision.
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries avoir, besoin, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
