Look at these examples:
Note that to ask for something in French, you could use two forms of the verb vouloir:
je veux (I want) or je voudrais (I would want/like)
Je voudrais is preferable in social contexts such as in a restaurant, as it is more polite and subtle than the blunt je veux (just like in English).
[Note that j'aimerais (I would like) is also very commonly used in more polite contexts.]
Grammar point: Je veux is in Le Présent tense (I want), whereas je voudrais is in Le Conditionnel (I would want/like).
Hi Sheila,
'Je veux' is considered rude in French and you would have to be pretty angry to tell you children or pupils ( if you are a teacher) that.
If I ever said this as a child, my mother used to retort -
"Le roi dit, nous voulons!"
meaning even the king doesn't use 'Je veux' so who do you think you are!
So that's probably why 'je voudrais' is the accepted answer.
Hope this helps!
So, “Je veux” is REALLY RUDE ?!! I am unclear when it would ever be appropriate, if even a king doesn’t say it. Thanks for your reply Cécile.
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On the quiz, I was given Je ________ un jouet! and put voudrais in the blank. It was marked incorrect and veux given as the correct answer. I though you could use either. Why was voudrais wrong?
Hi Melisa,
I suppose the exclamation mark makes it more of a demand than a wish, so 'veux' would be correct.
Hope this helps!
Hmm, I took the exclamation mark as a mark of excitement at possibly getting a new game.
I had a similar quiz question, and the instructions said to translate the sentence, "I want a toy!" So veux would be correct in that instance.
On the quiz, I was given Je ________ un jouet! and put voudrais in the blank. It was marked incorrect and veux given as the correct answer. I though you could use either. Why was voudrais wrong?
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Also, not to be picky but it’s une tasse de café, i believe. Tasse is feminine. And Stuart is right- all indefinite and partitive articles become de in negative sentences. If you did want sugar, it would be je veux du sucre, not des sucre since it’s singular. Hope I’m right. Still struggling here! Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
Pas de sucre. I believe. No article following pas. Or just ask for un café sans sucre. (No article with sans either.)
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Hi Frances,
Not sure of the context of that one, but if it was in a quiz -
and you put yourself into the mind of the megalomaniac who wants to be the Master of the Universe, I think he would use I want rather than I would like...
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"Je voudrais un coca ... "by the male "Voudrais" sounds different from the female in "Bonjour, je voudrais un coca... "Is it a regional accent?
Hi Claudia,
No, it is just the way the recording system used sometimes slightly distorts some words...
It actually sounds like the computer is saying "voudra" (at least to me) which could be a bit confusing because you don't use voudra with je, and obviously voudrai is not pronounced like voudra.
Could you perhaps just remove this clip and put the female computer one in the examples in its place to avoid this confusion?
Bonjour Michelle !
I've now replaced this audio file with a much clearer male voice :)
Bonne journée !
"Je voudrais un coca ... "by the male "Voudrais" sounds different from the female in "Bonjour, je voudrais un coca... "Is it a regional accent?
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Bonjour Martin,
You would say the familiar 's'il te plaît' to someone you say 'tu' to- so children, family members, friends etc...
and the more respectful 's'il vous plaît' to someone you say 'vous' to - so strangers, in shops, to people you don't know very well, or elderly people not part of your family etc...
Hope this helps!
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Hi John,
J'aimerais is simply "I would like...". The emphasis is not so much on getting something but more on liking it.
Je voudrais emphasises that you would like to obtain something, not just liking it.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
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Although grammatically correct, Vous voudrez une tasse de thé ? will relate to an event in the future, meaning something like, Will you be wanting a cup a tea?
For, Do you want a cup of tea? you will say, Vous voulez une tasse de thé ? (or voulez-vous une...) more than the polite form Voudriez-vous une tasse de thé ? which sounds stilted. But in shops or in the case of any dealings with strangers you will use "je voudrais", not "je veux" which sounds rude in French!
Does it means that the verb 'vouloir' in Le Conditionnel tense, only (je) voudrais means 'would like', the rest (such as voudriez, voudions) means 'will be wanting'?
Hi Joan,
It is the difference between,
'Do you want a cup of tea? ' and 'Would you like a cup of tea ? '.
The British (being more polite) would always use 'would' but, 'voulez-vous' is acceptable in French to ask if someone wants a drink....
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Dear Kev
Depending on where someone learns french, the accent can confuse non-native speakers on cetain words. For example some one from Quebec might say "le" but because of their accent it sounds like "la"
--From Tristan the Canadian
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