Hacer falta- confused on the meaning.

Question

I’m a little confused on the meaning of “hacer falta.” My book says it means “to need” or “to be lacking.”

My book will ask random questions like, “Te hace falta hacer ejercicio?” I’m not sure if that’s saying “Do you need to exercise?” or “Are you lacking exercise?” I’m not really sure how to go about figuring out which way “hacer falta” is being used here and in other sentences.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

te hace falta can refer to the need or lack of something depending on what you are talking about..... refering to something you are currently doing but is not enough (lack) or to something that has to be done but you havent started yet (need)....it just depends!!!

Answer 2

ThaiBean:

I looked in our Span¡shD!ct dictionary for the word "Falta."

Here is what I found ----> falta

Here is a small part of the definition given in our dictionary:

•hacer falta -> to be necessary
•me hace falta suerte -> I need some luck
•me haces mucha falta -> I really need you
•si hiciera falta, llámanos -> if necessary, call us

In the context in which you have found it used I agree with the reply first entered by Kmeza, here ----> link text. I have voted for Kmeza's answer.

Thank you! - thaibean06, ABR 12, 2010

Answer 3

"You need to excercise"

Anytime "te hace falta" is said, it means "you need to".

Thank youi! - thaibean06, ABR 12, 2010

Answer 4

"Había planeado esperar unos días antes to hablar contigo, pero ya veo que no hará falta."

I don´t know what "to" is doing in this passage, but it should be "de."

"I had planned to wait a few days before talking to you, but I now see that it won´t be necassary."

Thanks so much, and yes, i accidentally wrote "to" instead of "de". So I guess hacer falta on its own can possibly be defined as "to be necessary?" - Jeezycreezy, ABR 30, 2012

Ah, ok, I just looked at the other comments and saw this definition. Silly me. - Jeezycreezy, ABR 30, 2012

Answer 5

Can someone help me translate this meaning : "Había planeado esperar unos días antes to hablar contigo, pero ya veo que no hará falta." What does this phrase mean in the context of the future? I guess it sort of means, "we don't have any time to waste", or something along those lines?

Answer 6

Maybe this link can help you:

Phrase: no me hace falta

That link did help me. Thanks a lot! - thaibean06, ABR 12, 2010