How To Say I Want And I Would Like In French

One of the first things you need to understand in order to learn French is how to say 'I want' and 'I would like'.

How do you say "I want" and "I would like" in French?

Like so:

• "I want..." in French is je veux....
• "I would like..." in French is je voudrais....

If you want to learn more (conjugations, sample sentences, etc.), keep reading.

The verb 'to want' in French

What is the verb 'to want' in French?

The verb that translates to "to want" in French is vouloir.

Conjugation of vouloir

This is how you conjugate vouloir in the present tense:

For past tense, conjugate it like so:

What about 'would like' in French?

How do you say 'would like' (as in, "I would like") in French?

"I would like" in French is je voudrais (a conditional form of vouloir).

Conjugation of "would like"

For this form in the present tense, conjugate vouloir like so:

And for past tense:

Note that voudrais is a much more polite and slightly formal way of expressing your desire to do something compared with veux.

Voudrais is a conditional form of the verb vouloir, and what this implies is a certain level of politeness (less direct/abrupt).

Veux is more direct.

In a formal setting (e.g. a business meeting or job interview), it's more appropriate to use voudrais to say you want something. But if you're with friends, veux is generally fine.

Examples:

I hope that clarifies "I want" and "I would like" in French!

If you have any questions, send me a message.

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