213 - How to Say "I Would Like" in French

 
 

In this lesson, you'll learn how to say "I would like" in French.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Links & Cheat Sheet:

Transcript

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 vudrɛ/

Repeat after me: Je – vou – drais.

"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 — link in the episode notes. 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.

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

  • Je voudrais + noun = Je voudrais deux baguettes…

  • Je voudrais + verb = Je voudrais réserver…

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! 🤍

Mathilde KienComment