Thom 🌈

[signal spear]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[summer violet]

"I must" vs "I have need"

"je dois" can only be directly followed by verbs (otherwise its meaning changes to "owe")
"j'ai besoin de" can be followed by nouns or verbs

[stone yacht]

So «Je dois etudier mon vocabularie» would be correct for "I need to study my vocabulary"?

[summer violet]

« Je dois étudier mon vocabulaire » / « J'ai besoin d'étudier mon vocabulaire »

Lit.
I must study my vocabulary
I have need of studying my vocabulary

[stone yacht]

So avoir besoin is need to do and need to have vs devoir is must do?

It's a difference of severity level when applied to verbs?

[onyx rose]

Sometimes they're relatively interchangeable, but devoir carries a sense of obligation, whereas "avoir besoin de" just states having a need