net brauchen ze

Don't Need to: Net Brauchen Ze

Level 2

To say someone doesn't have to do something, use brauchen + net + ze + infinitive: Du brauchs net ze kommen.

How It Works

With a noun, brauchen means to need: Ech brauch Hëllef. (I need help.) Together with net and ze plus an infinitive, it says that something is not necessary: Du brauchs net ze kommen. (You don't have to come.)

The forms. Like a modal verb, brauchen has no -t in the hien form.

  • ech brauch, du brauchs, hie brauch
  • mir brauchen, dir braucht, si brauchen

Word order. Brauchen takes second place. Net comes after it, and ze with the infinitive goes to the end: Dir braucht net ze waarden. (You don't need to wait.) With a separable verb, ze goes inside and everything is written as one word: Du brauchs keng Jackett matzehuelen. See the infinitive with ze and ze inside separable verbs.

Net or keen? When the object is a noun that would take e or eng, or no article at all, use keen or keng instead of net, as in any other sentence: Du brauchs kee Brout ze kafen. (You don't need to buy bread.) Dir braucht Iech keng Suergen ze maachen. (You don't need to worry.) See net or keen.

Only need to. With just or nëmmen instead of net, it means only one small thing is needed: Du brauchs just eppes ze soen. (You only need to say something.)

Mussen with net. Mussen with net can also mean don't have to: Du muss net kommen. But be careful with English must not. To say something is not allowed, use däerfen with net: Hei däerf een net fëmmen. (You must not smoke here.)

Examples (6)

  1. Du brauchs net ze kommen.

    You don't have to come.

    Brauchs is the du form. Ze and the infinitive go to the end.

  2. Dir braucht net ze waarden.

    You don't need to wait.

    The dir form braucht, here said politely with Dir.

  3. Hie brauch muer net ze schaffen.

    He doesn't have to work tomorrow.

    The hie form is brauch, with no -t.

  4. Du brauchs kee Brout ze kafen, mir hunn nach eng Baguette.

    You don't need to buy bread, we still have a baguette.

    Brout would take e, so the negative is kee, not net.

  5. Dir braucht Iech keng Suergen ze maachen.

    You don't need to worry.

    Word by Word: You need yourself no worries to make.

    Sech Suergen maachen means to worry. Suergen would take no article, so keng is used.

  6. Du brauchs haut keng Jackett matzehuelen.

    You don't need to take a jacket today.

    Ze goes inside the separable verb mathuelen: matzehuelen.

Common Mistakes

  • Using muss net when you mean that something is not allowed.

    Hei muss een net fëmmen.
    Hei däerf een net fëmmen.

    The intended meaning is "you must not smoke here". Muss een net only says smoking is not necessary. To forbid something, use däerf net.

  • Putting ze in front of a separable verb.

    Du brauchs keng Jackett ze mathuelen.
    Du brauchs keng Jackett matzehuelen.

    With a separable verb, ze goes between the prefix and the verb, all written as one word.

  • Using net where the noun needs keen.

    Dir braucht Iech net Suergen ze maachen.
    Dir braucht Iech keng Suergen ze maachen.

    A noun without an article, or with e or eng, is made negative with keen or keng, not net.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

net brauchen zeLevel 2Don't Need to: Net Brauchen Ze

Learn This First

Before Don't Need To: Net brauchen ze, learn Must: Mussen and Negation With Net.

Words in This Pattern

brauchennetzekeen