need / hardship
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hardship / distress
A very difficult situation in which someone lacks the basic necessities of life, such as money or food. It can also describe a general situation of great danger or distress.
Durch die Überschwemmung gerieten viele Familien in große Not.
Because of the flood, many families fell into severe hardship.
if necessary
If there is no other way; as a last resort.
Wir können den Zug nehmen, und zur Not nehmen wir ein Taxi.
We can take the train, and if necessary we'll take a taxi.
in need
In an urgent or dangerous situation in which one needs help.
In der Not erkennt man seine wahren Freunde.
In times of need, you recognize your true friends.
to struggle with
To have great difficulty or trouble doing or understanding something.
Der Schüler hatte seine liebe Not mit der Bruchrechnung.
The student really struggled with fractions.
The word 'Not' (need/hardship) is a very productive component of compound nouns. In that case, it usually means 'for emergencies' or 'urgent'.
Im Brandfall benutzen Sie bitte den Notausgang.
In case of fire, please use the emergency exit.
'Die Not' is a German noun and means 'distress' or 'misery'. It has nothing to do with the English negation word 'not', even though the spelling is identical.
Viele Menschen litten nach dem Krieg große Not.
Many people suffered great hardship after the war.
In connection with poverty or danger, 'Not' (need/hardship) is often combined with certain verbs. Typical phrases are 'in Not geraten' (to fall into hardship), 'Not leiden' (to suffer hardship), or 'jemandem in der Not helfen' (to help someone in need).
Durch die Krankheit ist die Familie in finanzielle Not geraten.
Because of the illness, the family fell into financial hardship.
The fixed expression 'zur Not' (if necessary/as a last resort) can stand at the beginning of the sentence (position 1) or in the middle of the sentence. If it stands at the beginning, the verb follows directly.
Zur Not können wir auch zu Fuß gehen.
If necessary, we can also go on foot.
The expression 'seine Not mit etwas haben' means 'to have difficulties with something'. The possessive pronoun ('seine', 'ihre', 'meine') changes to match the person who is having the difficulties.
Ich habe meine liebe Not mit der neuen Software.
I'm really struggling with the new software.
poverty
Not and Armut can both be associated with a lack of money or the basic necessities of life. Not focuses more on a very difficult or urgently distressing situation, while Armut describes a longer-term condition. Use Not for the specific difficult situation and Armut for the ongoing condition.
Nach dem Verlust seiner Arbeit geriet die Familie schnell in Not.
After losing his job, the family quickly fell into hardship.
Wegen ihrer Armut konnte die Familie viele notwendige Dinge nicht kaufen.
Because of their poverty, the family could not buy many necessities.
