brauchte

Brauchte is the simple past tense form (Präteritum) of the German verb brauchen, meaning to need or to require. It describes a past situation in which something was needed and is commonly found in narrative writing. The corresponding past participle is gebraucht, which forms the perfect tenses with haben: Ich habe es gebraucht (I have needed it / I have used it). The present tense forms are ich brauche, du brauchst, er braucht, wir brauchen, ihr braucht, sie brauchen. The Präteritum forms are ich brauchte, du brauchtest, er brauchte, wir brauchten, ihr brauchtet, sie brauchten.

Usage of brauchen typically takes a direct object in the accusative to specify what is needed: Ich brauche Hilfe. In negation, one can say Ich brauche keinen Rat (I don’t need any advice). The sense is closer to “to need” than to “to use”; for “to use” other verbs such as verwenden or benutzen are more common. In everyday speech, the perfect construction with haben gebraucht is often used to refer to past necessity or past usage, while the Präteritum brauchte remains standard in written narration.

Etymology and related terms: das Verb brauchen is related to the noun der Brauch (custom) and to the related verb gebrauchen (to use). The two forms share a common Germanic root concerning use or necessity, and they diverge in meaning depending on context.

See also: brauchen, benötigen, gebrauchen, der Brauch.