das Bedürfnis

Plural: die Bedürfnisse
Based on: be-, bedürfen
Noun #634 Noun
1.

the need/longing, the urge, the want

(This is a need that comes from within one person, the soul. It's ALWAYS personal.)
Examples
  • Ich habe das Bedürfnis, zu rauchen, aber ich darf nicht.
  • I have the urge, want to smoke but I'm not allowed to.
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Sources for Etymology:

My Articles

The Modal Verb “dürfen” – All You Need to Know

"dürfen" is one of the German modal verbs and its core idea is "having permission". But many of the related words are about a different idea and seem unrelated.

Vocab: duerfen, der Bedarf, bedürftig, das Bedürfnis

Read article →

Questions and Comments

Do you have questions about the usage or meaning of “Bedürfnis”? Just ask here and I’ll try to clear it up.

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3 Comments
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xv
xv

I heard another learner give “breathing” as an example of a Bedürfnis. I was surprised as I’d understood it as more psychological but looking at the dictionary there is a second definition I wasn’t famirliar with that includes material things like food.

Basiscally then anything here could be a Bedürfnis then?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs#/media/File:Maslow's_Hierarchy_of_Needs2.svg

Not sure “belongingness” is a word , think maybe its “sense of belonging” but hey its wikipedia.

Emanuel
Emanuel
Reply to  xv

Yes, this is called “Bedürfnispyramide”. Why does that confuse you though? Do you think the definition doesn’t quite cover it?

xv
xv
Reply to  Emanuel

ah i actually didn’t know that but thats actually really helpful as a way to think about it.

I’d thought of Bedürfnis as more as purely a desire or urge – breathing kind of happens automatically its not something i normally consciously long to do. Although if i have problems breathing i definitely want to.

The scope of the word is however a bit bigger than i originally thought.

Need does implicitly cover breathing but i suppose some more examples in the definition of the range of the word might have helped.

Last edited 1 year ago by xv

How many meanings does the German word 'Bedürfnis' have?

Bedürfnis has 1 distinct meaning: 1. the need/longing, the urge, the want.

What is the gender of 'Bedürfnis'?

das

What is the plural of 'Bedürfnis'?

die Bedürfnisse

What is 'Bedürfnis' related to?

The word 'Bedürfnis' is related to be- and bedürfen.

Where can I learn more about 'Bedürfnis'?

Here are some articles where you can learn more about 'Bedürfnis':

The Modal Verb “dürfen” – All You Need to Know
"dürfen" is one of the German modal verbs and its core idea is "having permission". But many of the related words are about a different idea and seem unrelated.
Vocab: duerfen, der Bedarf, bedürftig, das Bedürfnis
Read article