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French Made Easy
Bite-sized and easy-to-follow French lessons for beginners. Join Mathilde as she teaches you the basics you need to know to kickstart your French learning journey, and ultimately speak French clearly and confidently. Each episode covers topics related to French grammar, French pronunciation, and French vocabulary. At the end of each episode, you can download the lesson's exercises – so you can start practicing what you've learned right away. Head to https://www.mathildekien.com/subscribe-library to subscribe to the free FME (French Made Easy) Exercise Library. 🗝
French Made Easy
213 - How to Say "I Would Like" in French
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In this lesson, you'll learn how to say "I would like" in French.
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Bonjour à tous, hello everyone, and welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 213, numéro 213.
Today, you'll learn how to say "I would like" in French. And trust me, you're going to need this all the time.
As always, if you're new here — welcome! Make sure to grab your lesson's cheat sheet from the episode notes so you can follow along and see how the words are written. And after the lesson, please head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice — all the links are in the episode notes.
Alright, let's get into it.
HOW TO SAY "I WOULD LIKE" IN FRENCH
"I would like" in French is:
- Je voudrais.
IPA: /ʒə vu.drɛ/
"Je voudrais" comes from the verb vouloir (to want), and it's the polite way to express what you want — basically a bit like the difference between "I want" and "I would like" in English. "I want" is "je veux", but "je voudrais" is much more polite.
It's the verb vouloir (to want) conjugated in the conditional tense. I'll put the full conjugation in the transcript. By the way, I have two episodes on the verb vouloir — episode 34 covers the present tense, and episode 122 covers the future tense, if you want to go deeper.
Je voudrais | I would like
Tu voudrais | You would like
Il/Elle voudrait | He/She would like
On voudrait | We would like
Nous voudrions | We would like
Vous voudriez | You would like (formal/plural)
Ils/Elles voudraient | They would like
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
Now, let's see some example sentences, so you can see how to use "je voudrais" in context.
Please repeat after me:
- Je voudrais deux baguettes, s'il vous plaît. (I would like two baguettes, please.) 🥖
- Je voudrais un aller-retour pour Paris, s'il vous plaît. (I would like a return ticket to Paris, please.) 🚂
- Je voudrais essayer cette veste, s'il vous plaît. (I would like to try on this jacket, please.) 👗
- Je voudrais réserver une table, s'il vous plaît. (I would like to book a table, please.) 🍽️
- Je voudrais parler à quelqu'un, s'il vous plaît. (I would like to speak to someone, please.) 📞
RECAP
- Je voudrais = I would like
Et voilà! That's the end of today's short and sweet lesson. Don't forget to grab your cheat sheet and head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice — all the links are in the episode notes.
À bientôt, bye! 🤍