אנחנו צריכים הסכם הוגן.

to need

Breakdown of אנחנו צריכים הסכם הוגן.

• אנחנו: we
• הסכם: agreement
• הוגן: fair; equitable

Questions & Answers about אנחנו צריכים הסכם הוגן.

Why is צריכים plural here?

Because the subject is אנחנו (we), and in Hebrew the adjective/participle used after the subject has to agree with it.

Here, צריכים is the masculine plural form of צריך (need / needing).

• אני צריך = I need (masculine speaker)
• אני צריכה = I need (feminine speaker)
• אנחנו צריכים = we need (masculine or mixed group)
• אנחנו צריכות = we need (all-female group)

So צריכים matches אנחנו.

Why is the sentence אנחנו צריכים... and not a special verb meaning we need?

In modern Hebrew, צריך / צריכה / צריכים / צריכות is very commonly used to express need.

Literally, it behaves more like necessary / in need of, but in normal English it is translated as need.

So:

• אני צריך מים = I need water
• אנחנו צריכים הסכם הוגן = We need a fair agreement

You can think of צריך as a very common Hebrew way to say need, even though its grammar does not work exactly like the English verb to need.

If we is gender-neutral in English, how do I know why Hebrew uses צריכים and not ?