English Translation
I have no family to provide for.
Would “besorgen” also work here?
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I don’t think so. Besorgen would be understood as to go and get or to obtain or even to buy or to wangle. It is similar to “beschaffen” (to procure).
So it would mean “I don’t need to go and procure a family.” Which of course sounds funny.
You can also get things for someone else (“provide sb. with”), so it goes in the direction of versorgen, but versorgen is more a “provide for” in the sense of alimentation, i.e. earn a living for the family. It is more of a regular thing, while besorgen is a one time deal.
In a wider sense, besorgen can also mean “to attend and complete a task”, e.g. an errand. In this sense, it is synonymous with erledigen.
If you think of what it literally means, be + sorgen, i.e. “to grace someone/something with your worry”, you may think it can also mean “to provide for”, but it doesn’t. It actually means, in an obsolescent way, “to worry about” or “to fear”. This is listed on wiktionary as meaning #4. Personally I have never experienced this usage.
And then there’s yet another slang meaning of besorgen. Look at wiktionary, meaning #3.
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