Questions & Answers about Wir müssen nicht hetzen, wir haben Zeit.
I just learned the phrase es eilig haben in this lesson. Could I use that here instead of hetzen?
Yes! You could say Wir haben es nicht eilig. The fixed phrase es eilig haben (using the dummy object es) means "to be in a hurry." The verb hetzen simply means "to rush." They are virtually interchangeable in this context, though hetzen emphasizes the physical stress of rushing.
What is the nuance difference between hetzen and sich beeilen?
Sich beeilen is the standard, neutral way to say "to hurry." Hetzen carries a stronger nuance of frantic, chaotic, or stressful rushing (it originally comes from hunting with hounds). By saying Wir müssen nicht hetzen, the speaker is really emphasizing that there is no need for stress.
Wait, doesn't wir müssen nicht translate to "we must not"?
This is a very common false friend for English speakers! In German, nicht müssen means "do not have to" (a lack of obligation). If you want to express a strict prohibition ("must not"), you need to use nicht dürfen. So Wir müssen nicht hetzen correctly translates to "We don't have to rush."
Is it grammatically correct to connect these two main clauses with just a comma?