Avoir envie de = To feel like, want to

Oh now I see...I need a new car would be ‘j’ai besoin d’acheter une nouvelle voiture’!

actually i do not understand.  For me it would be useful to know how often avoir envie de is used to mean ´need’ and in what context.  How is it different from ´avoir besoin dé’ .  And when does one use n’avoir envie dque ´ and when to use expressions with ´vouloir’.

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!

But you give ´I need a new’ something in the lesson.  Perhaps that usage could be removed....?  Merci.

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.

 

Thanks for clarifying...I didn’t want to remove it ...just to understand the nuances and raison d’etre For its use!

The use/différence hadn’t been explained...now it is clear.

Bonsoir Alison,
I think the answer lies in the fact that «avoir envie de» is a fixed expression. In reviewing the lesson, all of the phrases construct similarly regardless of what is desired be it a masculine or feminine noun.
Bonne chance.

Bonjour Alison !

In the case of fixed expressions such as "avoir envie de", you're literally saying "I have envy of [something]".
Using du, de la, de l' or des would add the definite article (de + le, la, l', les) and would be used to be more specific = I have envy of the [thing] (that I mentionned previously).




I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Bonjour Susan,

To express need, you'd only use avoir besoin de, which means "to need."

Avoir envie de means "to want."

Thanks for the clarification.

Bonjour Ruba,

"Veux" is from "vouloir" which means "to want."

"Envie" is used in the expression "avoir envie" which means "to feel like."

Bonjour Ruba,

You might have encountered the sentence "J'ai envie de toi" meaning "I want you" in a loving way in French. "Je te veux" in that context would be much less romantic!