French Phrase
Le sushi a besoin de poisson frais et de riz.
Meaning
This sentence states that sushi requires two essential ingredients: fresh fish and rice. It emphasizes the quality of the fish (fresh) as a key factor for good sushi.
When to use
Use this phrase when talking about cooking, menu descriptions, or explaining what makes authentic sushi. It’s common in culinary classes, restaurant reviews, or casual conversations about food preparation.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Lesushiabesoindepoissonfraisetderiz.
a besoin de
The construction 'avoir besoin de' means 'to need' and is always followed by the preposition 'de' plus a noun or infinitive.
Adjective agreement
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify; 'frais' is masculine singular to match 'poisson'.
Partitive vs. de
After 'besoin de' you use the simple preposition 'de' (not the partitive 'du' or 'de la'), even when referring to a portion of something.
Conjunction 'et'
The conjunction 'et' simply links two noun phrases without changing the preposition that precedes each.
🗨In Conversation
Qu'est-ce qu'il faut pour préparer un bon sushi ?
What do you need to prepare a good sushi?
Le sushi a besoin de poisson frais et de riz.
Sushi needs fresh fish and rice.
✕Common Mistakes
Le sushi a besoin poisson frais et de riz.
After 'avoir besoin' you must always add the preposition 'de'.
Le sushi a besoin de poisson fraîche et de riz.
The adjective must agree with the noun; 'poisson' is masculine, so use 'frais', not 'fraîche'.
Le sushi a besoin du poisson frais et du riz.
Do not use the partitive article after 'besoin de'; use just 'de'.
↔Alternatives
Le sushi nécessite du poisson frais et du riz.
Sushi requires fresh fish and rice.
Pour faire du sushi, il faut du poisson frais et du riz.
To make sushi, you need fresh fish and rice.
Un bon sushi dépend d'un poisson frais et d'un riz de qualité.
A good sushi depends on fresh fish and quality rice.
Cultural Tip
Although sushi originates from Japan, the French culinary world often discusses it using French grammar structures. In France, 'sushi' is masculine, so adjectives and articles follow masculine agreement. When ordering sushi in a French restaurant, you might hear 'Je voudrais des sushi' (incorrect) – the correct form is 'des sushis' because the word becomes plural in French.