The French expression avoir envie de has different meanings, such as to feel like, to want or, in some cases, to need.
To feel like / want in French, you can use the expression avoir envie de [quelque chose] (literally to have desire/want of [something]).
Note that de becomes du / de la / de l' / des depending on the gender and number of the noun following it (e.g. of the).
To express to feel like [doing something] / to want or to need [to do something], you will use avoir envie de / d' + infinitive of the verb.
See also the verb vouloir (to want):
Conjugate vouloir in Le Présent (present tense)
I’ve been looking for the main difference with avoir besoin de and avoir envie de and thought I got it when you say that avoir envie de is to feel/need to DO SOMETHING!
But then the first question to answer is J’ai envie d’une nouvelle voiture and that blew it out the water.
I am confused again! Why use one over the other in this simple context?
Thank you
Hi Martin,
In the case of a car, it is quite straight forward -
If your car is old or has broken down you will say -
J'ai besoin d'une nouvelle voiture
If however, you would like/ you wish for a new car it will be -
J'ai envie d'une nouvelle voiture
There, the difference between a need and a whim is clear.
Avoir envie de will be used to express a need, an urge like in -
J'ai envie d'aller aux toilettes = I need to go to the toilet
J'ai une envie pressée = I have an urgent need
Hope this helps!
Don't overthink it. The difference is that avoir envie is more about having the desire for something and avoir besoin is for having the need for something.
If you use that as a guide, you'll be smack on 80% of the time.
Thank you Cécile and Chris, I appreciate the reply and the examples have made it clear. And you're right Chris I need to not think about it too deeply (beginner's mistakes lol)
I’ve been looking for the main difference with avoir besoin de and avoir envie de and thought I got it when you say that avoir envie de is to feel/need to DO SOMETHING!
But then the first question to answer is J’ai envie d’une nouvelle voiture and that blew it out the water.
I am confused again! Why use one over the other in this simple context?
Thank you
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IMHO, the presentation of "avoir envie de" in this lesson seems to be rambling and less precise than the corresponding "avoir besoin de" lesson. (They were written by the same author.)
Because of the differing presentations, it took me a couple of re-reads to realize that the construction of these expressions is actually IDENTICAL:
- avoir besoin de + (article) + noun
- avoir envie de + (article) + noun
and
- avoir besoin de + infinitive
- avoir envie de + infinitive
Note that I've replaced the unnecessary "de/d'" by the simple "de", because at this stage of a French course, I don't think anyone would ever say (or write) "J'ai besoin de un crayon". [BTW: I'm impressed by the spell checker. It flagged "de un" ! ]
The use of "parallel text" causes most Brits to prefer US courses. Although the subjects might be of equal complexity and difficulty, the Yanks use parallel text for the overhead projectors and the course notes. That seems to make the subjects seem simpler - both to learn and to remember.
BTW: Parallel text simply means the use of identical text throughout - except for the differing key words. Look at my "besoin" and "envie" examples above. The differing key words seem to jump out of the page - as if they had been emboldened.
Thanks.
I won't comment on tour formatting issues but I would take issue when you say "most Brits to prefer US courses". I have been on sites that butcher both the Fench and non-American English content , making it frustrating to be marked wrong for using perfectly good, non-American English idioms and spellings. Duolingo is a prime example of this cultural imperialism..
At least Kwiziq tries hard to provide alternitive English alternatives.
Tom said:
>> ...I would take issue when you say "most Brits [to] prefer US courses". I have been on sites that butcher both the Fench and non-American English content
I apologize unreservedly. I'm a retired engineer, so I had to attend techie courses by US companies both here and in the US. This excellent French course is probably my only non-work-related course.
A possible clue to types of course is my use of "overhead slides" in my OP. I don't think many language students would sign up for a course where the instructors use overhead slides :-)
Strangely enough, I use the Tex site for grammar, because it's highly concentrated, terse, succinct, brutally minimalist, and looks as if it were designed as a junior school project. In other words - it's an engineer's site.
It's presented as a "course" but I use only the top part of each page as a grammar reference, because the lower part contains examples which follow the armadillos "theme". I have no probs with armadillos, but the use of a theme forces the use of a restricted set which must match the theme. Kwiziq's use of short, brief random examples that stick easily in the mind is my preferred choice.
Thanks.
Hi Alan,
I am aware of the University of Texas site and consider a valuable resource, but I've no idea what an "armadillo theme" is. :-)
Tom
Hi Tom,
Tom said:
>> I've no idea what an "armadillo theme" is. :-)
I'm not sure if links are permitted on this forum, but here's my starting point:
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/
The persistent banner shows "Tex", the armadillo, complete with mandatory beret and striped carapace - as is right and proper for any genuine Frenchman.
Scroll down about 20 lines and click "NOUNS: introduction".
You can see:
un tatou an armadillo
and a few lines down:
un tatou, deux tatous one armadillo, two armadillos
As I mentioned in my OP, the problem with a "theme" story is that - to preserve continuity - the author is forced to include extraneous and unnatural vocabulary that I don't really think is useful in trying to communicate with French people.
On the other hand, Kwiziq select their vocabulary to match the requirements of the current lesson - there's no theme or "thread" that they are forced to adhere to.
Thanks.
IMHO, the presentation of "avoir envie de" in this lesson seems to be rambling and less precise than the corresponding "avoir besoin de" lesson. (They were written by the same author.)
Because of the differing presentations, it took me a couple of re-reads to realize that the construction of these expressions is actually IDENTICAL:
- avoir besoin de + (article) + noun
- avoir envie de + (article) + noun
and
- avoir besoin de + infinitive
- avoir envie de + infinitive
Note that I've replaced the unnecessary "de/d'" by the simple "de", because at this stage of a French course, I don't think anyone would ever say (or write) "J'ai besoin de un crayon". [BTW: I'm impressed by the spell checker. It flagged "de un" ! ]
The use of "parallel text" causes most Brits to prefer US courses. Although the subjects might be of equal complexity and difficulty, the Yanks use parallel text for the overhead projectors and the course notes. That seems to make the subjects seem simpler - both to learn and to remember.
BTW: Parallel text simply means the use of identical text throughout - except for the differing key words. Look at my "besoin" and "envie" examples above. The differing key words seem to jump out of the page - as if they had been emboldened.
Thanks.
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Hi Marnie,
'J'ai envie d'une nouvelle voiture' means, 'I feel like (having) a new car'. Here, it is a wish rather than a need.
If you car is 24 years old and you feel you are in need of a new car you will say. "J'ai besoin de changer ma voiture'" or something like "Il faut (absolument) que je change ma voiture." which is a bit stronger.
Hope this helps!
Hi Marnie,
I can understand your wish to remove avoir envie de to mean a 'need or want to go' as you find it confusing but it is one of the meanings of 'avoir envie de' which could be very useful to anyone finding him or herself in a French speaking hospital, for instance.
Avoir envie d'uriner/d'aller à la selle = To have an urge to urinate/defecate
conveys an express need for bodily functions.
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But you used avoir envie de with need to go to the toilet. Why not j’ai besoin d’aller aux toilettes?
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Apart of this particular situation though, is 'veux' and 'envie' pretty much interchangeable when I want to express that I WANT something?
Bonjour Katie!
In a general sense, I'd say that "veux" is "to want", whereas "avoir envie de" would be more like "I fancy", which in some cases can be close enough to be interchangeable indeed :)
Bonne journée !
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