Нам нужно разрешение.

Because Russian uses the dative case in this kind of someone needs something construction.

• мы = we (subject form, nominative)
• нам = to us / for us (dative)

So Нам нужно разрешение literally works like:

• To us it is necessary
• Permission is needed

A very literal translation would be Permission is necessary for us, but in natural English this is usually just We need permission.

Here нужно means needed, necessary, or required.

In this sentence, it forms a very common Russian pattern:

• кому-то нужно что-то = someone needs something

So:

• мне нужно время = I need time
• тебе нужно отдохнуть = you need to rest
• нам нужно разрешение = we need permission

It is not a full verb like English need. Russian often expresses this idea with a structure that is closer to it is necessary for someone.

In this sentence, нужно is being used in an impersonal predicative way, meaning it is necessary / needed. In that use, нужно stays in the neuter singular form.

So you should think of:

• Нам нужно разрешение = We need permission

not as adjective agreement in the ordinary sense, but as a fixed necessity-type construction.

That said, learners may also see sentences like:

• Нам нужен врач = We need a doctor
• Нам нужна помощь = We need help
• Нам нужны документы = We need documents

In those, нужен / нужна / нужны agree with the noun. Russian allows both patterns in different situations, but нам нужно разрешение is a very normal and natural way to say we need permission.

Разрешение is in the nominative singular.

Its dictionary form is:

• разреше́ние = permission, permit, authorization

In this sentence, it is the thing that is needed, and in this construction Russian often keeps that noun in the nominative:

• Нам нужно разрешение
• Мне нужна помощь
• Ему нужен совет

So even though English treats permission as the object of need, Russian structures the sentence differently.

Not really in the way English speakers often imagine.

Russian usually does not use a present-tense equivalent of is/are in sentences like this. So:

• Нам нужно разрешение

is complete by itself.

If you translated it very literally, you might imagine something like To us [it] necessary permission, but modern Russian simply says нужно without adding a present-tense есть.

Разрешение usually means permission, authorization, or sometimes a permit depending on context.

Possible interpretations include:

• permission in a general sense
• official approval
• a permit/document allowing something

So Нам нужно разрешение could mean:

• We need permission
• We need authorization
• We need a permit

The exact English choice depends on the situation.

Because Russian has no articles.

So разрешение can mean:

• permission
• a permission/permit
• the permission

depending on context.

In this sentence, English will usually say We need permission or We need a permit, depending on what the speaker means.

Russian leaves that distinction to context instead of using separate words like a and the.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English, although the most neutral version here is:

• Нам нужно разрешение.

You may also hear:

• Разрешение нам нужно.
• Нужно нам разрешение.

These alternatives can sound more emphatic or marked, depending on context. For example, moving разрешение to the front can emphasize that permission is what is needed.

But for a basic learner, Нам нужно разрешение is the safest and most neutral order.

Yes. Нам надо разрешение is also natural and means almost the same thing.

Very roughly:

• нужно = necessary / needed
• надо = need to / have to / need

In many everyday contexts, they overlap a lot. For a learner, both are useful. But нужно is slightly more neutral and often feels a bit more standard in textbook examples.

So both of these work:

• Нам нужно разрешение
• Нам надо разрешение

The stress is:

• Нам ну́жно разреше́ние.

So:

• ну́жно — stress on the first syllable
• разреше́ние — stress on ше

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• nam NOOZH-na raz-rye-SHYE-ni-ye

The final -ие in разрешение is pronounced as two syllables: -ni-ye.