To Need in Turkish

On this page we will learn how to build "need" sentences in Turkish. In other words, how to say "I need something". There are two basic ways to tell this. We can use the word ihtiyaç/need or lazım/there is necessity.  

Let's start with some simple sentences.

I need a pen. Bir kaleme ihtiyacım var.

I need a car. Bir arabaya ihtiyacım var.

ihtiyaç : need

We add personal suffixes (genitive) to this word and it changes upon the subject. For example;

Senin bir kaleme ihtiyacın var. You need a pen.

Onun bir kaleme ihtiyacı var. He needs a pen.

Bizim bir kaleme ihtiyacımız var. We need a pen.

Sizin bir kaleme ihtiyacınız var. You need a pen.

Onların bir kaleme ihtiyacı var. They need a pen.

If you already know the genitive endings like my book, your house etc. , then you already know how to say what you need. Because all we do is that saying;

There is my need to something. (my need: benim ihtiyacım)

There is your need to something. (your need: senin ihtiyacın) and so on.

I added "to". Because we add -e or -a to the object we need. And if it ends with a vowel (a,e,ı,i,o,u,ö,ü) we also add "y" as connection, just like the second sentence on the top of the page (araba-y-a, to car).

In spoken language we usually skip the first word;

Bir kaleme ihtiyacım var.

This applies for all subjects. Bir kaleme ihtiyacın var, Bir kaleme ihtiyacı var..

To make it negative, just replace the word "var" with "yok"and skip the number if you do not need any.

Kaleme ihtiyacım yok. I don't need a pen.

What if you do not need that but this?

I do not need a pen but a phone. Kaleme değil (ama) bir telefona ihtiyacım var. (You can skip "ama")

Now we can start to learn about the word "lazım".

This is easier. Because this time you just say;

To me object need

Let's look at the examples;

Bana kitap lazım. I need a book.

Sana para lazım. You need money.

Ona ne lazım? What does he need?

Bize yemek lazım. We need meal.

Size içecek lazım. You need drink.

Onlara bisiklet lazım. They need bicycles.

Is there a difference between ihtiyaç and lazım in Turkish?

No, there is no difference. You can use either of them to tell what you need.

What about you need to "do" something?

Okula gitmem lazım. I need to go to the school.

Sinemaya gitmen lazım. You need to go to the cinema.

Alışverişe gitmesi lazım. He needs to go shopping.

Okula gitmemiz lazım. We need to go to the school.

Sinemaya gitmeniz lazım. You need to go to the cinema.

Alışverişe gitmeleri lazım. They need to go shopping.

As you may notice, we again use the genitive suffixes. Benim gitmem, senin gitmen..

gitmek: to go. We just take away "k" and genitive instead. Here is another verb example;

okumak: to read

okumam, okuman, okuması, okumamız, okumanız, okumaları

If it is a must rather than a necessity, then you can simply change the word lazım and use "gerek" instead.

Okula gitmem gerek. I have to go to the school.

Note: There is a different use of the word ihtiyaç which does not follow the normal grammar rule. For example;

Burada size ihtiyacımız var. We need you here.

Burada size ihtiyaç var. There is a need for you here.

These two sentences are interchangeable and the second one can be preferred in daily talk more. 

Likewise;

Bana ihtiyaçları yok. They do not me. (me as my help)

Bana ihtiyaç yok. There is no need for me. 

I recommend you to follow the normal way to build these sentences, as it does not work for all subjects.