Willen means "to want," and it is the modal you reach for constantly — to express desire for a thing (Ik wil koffie), desire to do something (Ik wil slapen), and, in its conditional dress zou willen, to make a request sound polite. It is half-irregular: the present has the modal quirk in the singular, and the past has a famous two-track split — written wilde/wilden beside spoken wou/wouden — where both forms are fully correct but belong to different registers. That register split is the heart of this page.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Simple past (sing.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| willen | wilde / wou | gewild | hebben | irregular / preterite-present modal |
Present tense
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | wil | I want |
| jij / je | wil or wilt | you want |
| u | wilt (also: wil) | you want (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | wil | he / she / it wants |
| wij / we | willen | we want |
| jullie | willen | you (pl.) want |
| zij / ze | willen | they want |
Two things to notice. First, ik wil and hij wil take no ending — the modal singular pattern, exactly like moeten. Second, the jij form is genuinely variable: both jij wil and jij wilt are standard and accepted. Historically wil (no -t) is the older modal form; wilt (with the regular jij -t) has spread by analogy with ordinary verbs and is now extremely common, especially in writing and in the formal u wilt. Neither is an error.
Wil je nog een kopje thee?
Would you like another cup of tea? — inverted jij, the -t drops: 'wil je'.
Simple past: the wilde / wou split
This is the form English speakers ask about most. Dutch has two simple-past sets for willen, and both are correct:
| Number | Written / neutral | Spoken / colloquial |
|---|---|---|
| Singular (ik/jij/hij) | wilde | wou |
| Plural (wij/jullie/zij) | wilden | wouden (also: wouen) |
Wilde / wilden is the form you write — neutral, standard, expected in any formal or printed context. Wou / wouden is the everyday spoken form, heard constantly in conversation and informal messages; it is not slang and not wrong, but it reads as casual on the page. Treat them as the same tense in two registers: say wou with friends, write wilde in an email to your landlord.
Ik wilde je gisteren nog bellen, maar ik vergat het.
I'd meant to call you yesterday, but I forgot. — written/neutral past: 'wilde'.
Ik wou net hetzelfde zeggen!
I was just about to say the same thing! — spoken past: 'wou' (very common, informal).
Ze wilden niet meedoen aan het spel.
They didn't want to join the game. — plural written past: 'wilden'.
The perfect: double infinitive or gewild
Like the other modals, when willen governs an infinitive the perfect uses the double infinitive with hebben: Ik heb altijd willen reizen ("I've always wanted to travel"). When willen stands alone with a thing as its object — no following verb — you use the participle gewild: Dat heb ik nooit gewild ("I never wanted that").
| Construction | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| willen + infinitive | Ik heb haar willen helpen. | I wanted to help her. |
| willen + object only | Ze heeft het altijd al gewild. | She's always wanted it. |
Imperative
Willen has no everyday imperative. The fixed phrase Wil je …? ("Would you …?") functions as a polite request, and the elevated Wilt u … appears in formal notices (Wilt u plaatsnemen — "Please take a seat"), but you do not command someone to "want."
Polite requests: zou willen
The most useful softening trick in spoken Dutch: put willen into the conditional with zou to turn a blunt "I want" into a courteous "I would like." Ik wil een afspraak maken is fine but direct; Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken is the polished version you'd use on the phone or with a stranger. The little word graag ("gladly") usually rides along.
Ik zou graag een tafel voor twee willen reserveren.
I'd like to reserve a table for two. — polite request with 'zou ... willen'.
Zou je het raam open willen doen?
Would you mind opening the window? — softened request, far gentler than 'wil je'.
Three model sentences
Ik wil dit weekend gewoon thuisblijven en niks doen.
I just want to stay home this weekend and do nothing. — desire + infinitive ('wil ... thuisblijven').
Wat wil je drinken — koffie, thee, of iets fris?
What do you want to drink — coffee, tea, or something cold? — desire with an object/choice.
Ik zou graag wat meer informatie willen, als dat kan.
I'd like a bit more information, if possible. — polite 'zou ... willen'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hij wilt naar huis.
Incorrect — third-person singular has no -t: 'hij wil'. (The -t variant belongs only to jij/u.)
✅ Hij wil naar huis.
He wants to go home.
❌ Wilt je koffie?
Incorrect — after inversion the -t drops: 'wil je?'. 'wilt' survives inversion only with u: 'wilt u?'.
✅ Wil je koffie?
Do you want coffee?
❌ Ik heb altijd willen gereisd.
Incorrect — the double-infinitive perfect keeps both verbs as infinitives: 'willen reizen', not the participle.
✅ Ik heb altijd willen reizen.
I've always wanted to travel.
❌ In het rapport stond dat we het project wou afronden.
Incorrect register — 'wou' is spoken; in formal writing use 'wilden' (and here plural): 'wilden afronden'.
✅ In het rapport stond dat we het project wilden afronden.
The report said we wanted to finish the project.
❌ Ik wil een afspraak maken, nu meteen.
Not wrong, but blunt — for a polite request prefer the conditional 'zou ... willen'.
✅ Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
I'd like to make an appointment.
Key Takeaways
- Present singular: ik wil, hij wil, with no ending; jij may be wil or wilt (both correct), u wilt.
- After inversion the -t drops: wil je?, but wilt u?.
- Past has a register split: write wilde/wilden, say wou/wouden — both are standard, just different registers.
- Perfect: double infinitive with hebben (heb willen reizen) when an infinitive follows; participle gewild when willen stands alone with an object.
- Soften any request with zou … willen (often + graag) — the everyday politeness formula.
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