brauchen

Brauchen is a German verb meaning to need or to require. It is a regular (weak) verb and forms its present tense with the usual endings: ich brauche, du brauchst, er braucht, wir brauchen, ihr braucht, sie brauchen. The simple past is brauchte/brauchtest/brauchte/brachen, and the past participle is gebraucht. The verb is transitive, taking a direct object in most uses, as in "Ich brauche einen Stift" or "Wir brauchen mehr Zeit."

Usage and meanings

Brauchen commonly expresses necessity or lack of necessity with a direct object: "Ich brauche Hilfe," "Wir brauchen noch zwei Tage." It can also be used in a general sense of time or effort: "Das braucht Zeit" (that takes time). In negation, "nicht brauchen" is used to say that something is not necessary: "Du brauchst das nicht zu tun" or "Ich brauche heute nicht zu arbeiten." The form with zu plus Infinitiv (brauchen zu) is used in some constructions to express the need to perform an action, typically in more formal or written language: "Ich brauche nicht zu erklären" (I don’t need to explain).

Grammar notes

Brauchen is commonly used with the pronoun and noun objects for concrete needs (e.g., "Ich brauche einen Kaffee") but also appears in impersonal or existential constructions (e.g., "Das braucht Zeit"). It contrasts with müssen, which expresses obligation, and with benützen or verwenden in sense of using something rather than needing it.

Synonyms and related terms

Common synonyms include benötigen, benötigen in more formal style, and erfordern for situations that imply requirement. In everyday speech, brauchen remains the standard choice for “to need,” while benutzen or verwenden describe using something rather than needing it.