Potebuje

Potebuje is a non-standard orthographic form that appears in discussions of Slavic verbs meaning “to need.” In standard Czech and Slovak, the present-tense forms are potřebuje (Czech) and potrebuje (Slovak). The word potebuje is not considered correct in these languages and typically arises when diacritics are omitted or when a typographical error changes letters.

In Czech, potřebuje is the third-person singular present of the verb potřebovat, meaning “he/she/it needs.” It is used in sentences such as On potřebuje nový počítač. When diacritics are removed, the form becomes potrebuje, which is closer to the Slovak standard than to potebuje.

In Slovak, potrebuje is the equivalent third-person singular present of potrebať or potreovať, meaning “he/she/it needs.” A typical sentence is On potrebuje nový notebook. The non-diacritic form would be novy notebook, with diacritics removed on other words as appropriate.

Orthography and usage notes: potebuje is generally regarded as a misspelling or non-standard variant in Czech and Slovak. It may appear in informal text or in systems that do not support diacritics, but it does not represent the correct standard forms. Writers should use potřebuje in Czech and potrebuje in Slovak to ensure correct spelling and pronunciation. Etymology traces back to the Slavic root treb- (“to need”) combined with prefixes and inflectional endings used to form verb conjugations in the two languages.

See also: potřebovat, potreba, potřeba, Slovak verbs of need.