Skip to content

bisogno

need

noun bee-ZOHN-yoh Common
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Origin: Germanic bisogn (want, lack), via Old French besoin

Also means

necessity

Usage Note

Bisogno is a masculine noun most commonly encountered in the impersonal construction avere bisogno di ('to need something'): ho bisogno di aiuto ('I need help'). Compare with esigenza, which is more formal and implies a pressing demand. The impersonal verb bisognare (bisogna studiare, 'one must study') shares the root but is a separate lexical item.

Examples

"Ho bisogno di dormire."

Natural Translation

I need to sleep.

Literal Translation

I-have need of to-sleep.

Free starter pack

Building your Italian vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Italian by topic