to need in Portuguese

You need to learn Portuguese.
You have to learn Portuguese.

Just as in English, there are two ways to express need in Brazilian Portuguese. Each has its own specific way of being used.

(1) precisar

PRECISAR = to need.
Precisar is a little tricky because you must always put a "de" after it unless it's followed by a verb. Here it is follwed by another verb:

The translation is straight-forward:
Preciso = I need
comprar = to buy
protetor solar = sunscreen
agora! = now!

Here it is without the verb following it:

The translation reveals the difference:
Preciso = I need
de = of
protetor solar = sunscreen
agora! = now!

In Portuguese when you need something, you need of something: você precisa de alguma coisa.

Let's look at two more examples.

Precisar NOT followed another verb:

Precisar followed by another verb:

Não preciso me drogar para ser um gênio;
Não preciso ser um gênio para ser humano;
Mas preciso do seu sorriso para ser feliz.

Charles Chaplin

» Go deeper on the verb PRECISAR.

(2) ter + que

TER QUE means to have to. Literally, to have that. QUE of course can have different meanings. It often translates as that, but here it means to. You always need to include the que when saying, to have to.

>> Hey! There's now a separate post showing how to use TER QUE.

I have to buy sunscreen.

I have to go to the supermarket today.

Once you've got this down you can get pretty fancy with it right away!

You have to have a car to get there.

You would have to buy a car to get there.