bedürfen

Bedürfen is a German verb meaning to require or to be in need of. It is a formal or literary verb that governs the genitive case. In everyday language it is often replaced by brauchen or benötigen, but bedürfen remains common in official, legal, or stylistically elevated contexts. The typical construction is either an explicit subject with a genitive object (Der Plan bedarf einer sorgfältigen Überarbeitung) or the impersonal es-structure (Es bedarf keiner weiteren Erklärungen).

Conjugation and syntax: In the present tense: ich bedarf, du bedarfst, er bedarf; wir bedürfen, ihr bedürft, sie bedürfen. The simple past (Präteritum) is: ich bedurfte, du bedurftest, er bedurfte; wir bedurften, ihr bedurftet, sie bedurften. The past participle is bedurft, and in perfect constructions one can say ich habe bedurft or ich habe Ihre Hilfe bedurft, although this form is relatively formal and infrequent in colloquial speech. With das Subjekt der Teilaussage is already in the nominative, the genitive object expresses what is required.

Usage notes: Bedürfen typically appears with abstract or non-material needs (plans, procedures, information, authorization). It is more common in written or formal texts than in spoken language. Synonyms include brauchen and benötigen, which are more neutral and widely used in everyday German. The related noun der Bedarf means the need or demand itself, and das Bedürfnis is a broader term for a personal or psychological need.

See also: Bedarf, Bedarfsgerechtigkeit; Bedarf and Synonyms in German grammar.