敢 · 需要
dare (to) · need (to)
Structure
主语 + 敢／不敢 + 动词 · 主语 + 需要 + 名词／动词
What it means
敢 means “dare (to)”: you have the courage. 需要 means “need (to)” and can take a noun or a verb.
How it is built
Subject + 敢／不敢 + verb: 我不敢一个人晚上出门 (I daren’t go out alone at night). Subject + 需要 + noun／verb: 你需要帮忙吗？ (do you need a hand?)
When to use it
Ask with 敢不敢 or 敢…吗: 你敢不敢跟经理说？ 需要 takes nouns or verbs: 需要帮忙, 需要查血. Its negative is 不需要, or in speech often 不用.
Watch out
Don’t mix up 不敢 and 不能: 我不敢说 means you’re too scared to say it; 我不能说 means you’re not able or not allowed to. “Don’t need to” is 不用 or 不需要, not 不要, which means “don’t want” or “don’t!”.
Examples
我不敢一个人晚上出门。
I daren’t go out alone at night.
你敢不敢跟经理说？
Do you dare tell the manager?
你需要帮忙吗？
Do you need a hand?
小感冒不需要吃药，多休息就行。
A slight cold doesn’t need medicine; plenty of rest will do.
Learn this in HSK 3 · Lesson 8: 发烧了 (Fever)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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