Vouloir is the verb to want — and far more than that. It is the workhorse of desire (je veux du café), the engine of politeness (je voudrais un café, with the conditional softening the bald je veux into something a stranger can say to a server), and the verb behind a small set of idioms you cannot avoid: vouloir dire (to mean), en vouloir à quelqu'un (to be angry with someone), vouloir bien (to be willing). It is also the trigger for the subjunctive in subordinate clauses with a different subject: je veux que tu viennes.
This page is the verb-reference entry: every paradigm, every compound tense, the major uses with examples, and the idioms. Use it as a lookup. The detail page covers register and politeness in greater depth.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary — the basic conjugational paradigms. Vouloir is highly irregular: the stem alternates between veu-, voul-, voudr-, and veuill- across the paradigm.
Présent de l'indicatif
The present indicative shows the typical 3e-groupe stem alternation: a "strong" stem veu- / veul- in the singular and 3pl, a "weak" stem voul- in the nous / vous forms.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | veux | /vø/ |
| tu | veux | /vø/ |
| il / elle / on | veut | /vø/ |
| nous | voulons | /vulɔ̃/ |
| vous | voulez | /vule/ |
| ils / elles | veulent | /vœl/ |
The 1sg / 2sg / 3sg are perfectly homophonous (/vø/) — the spelling distinguishes them but the ear cannot, so context does the work. Note also the vowel change in the 3pl: veulent /vœl/ (open vowel) versus veux/veut /vø/ (closed). This is a sound change, not a typo.
Je veux un café, s'il te plaît.
I want a coffee, please. (direct — to a friend)
Tu veux qu'on aille au cinéma ce soir ?
Do you want us to go to the cinema tonight?
Ils ne veulent rien entendre, ils ont déjà décidé.
They don't want to hear anything, they've already decided.
Imparfait
Built on the voul- stem (from nous voulons) plus the regular imparfait endings. Perfectly regular once you have the stem.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voulais |
| tu | voulais |
| il / elle / on | voulait |
| nous | voulions |
| vous | vouliez |
| ils / elles | voulaient |
Je voulais te demander quelque chose, mais j'ai oublié quoi.
I wanted to ask you something, but I forgot what.
Quand on était petits, on voulait toujours plus de bonbons.
When we were little, we always wanted more candy.
Passé simple (literary)
Used in literary writing and historical narration. Almost never heard in conversation. The stem is voul- with the -us endings characteristic of u-stem participles. Note the circumflex on -ûmes / -ûtes.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voulus |
| tu | voulus |
| il / elle / on | voulut |
| nous | voulûmes |
| vous | voulûtes |
| ils / elles | voulurent |
Il voulut protester, mais personne ne l'écouta.
He tried to protest, but nobody listened to him. (literary)
Futur simple
The stem is voudr- — irregular and not derivable from the infinitive. It picks up an extra -d- (compare vouloir → voudr-; the same pattern shows up in valoir → vaudr-, tenir → tiendr-, venir → viendr-). Endings are the regular futur endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voudrai |
| tu | voudras |
| il / elle / on | voudra |
| nous | voudrons |
| vous | voudrez |
| ils / elles | voudront |
Personne ne voudra payer ce prix, c'est trop cher.
Nobody will want to pay that price, it's too expensive.
Conditionnel présent
Same voudr- stem as the futur, with the imparfait endings. This is the form you will use most often — je voudrais is the standard polite request in French. A French speaker who walks into a boulangerie and says je veux sounds rude; je voudrais is the neutral, civil register.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voudrais |
| tu | voudrais |
| il / elle / on | voudrait |
| nous | voudrions |
| vous | voudriez |
| ils / elles | voudraient |
Je voudrais une baguette et deux croissants, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a baguette and two croissants, please.
Nous voudrions réserver une table pour quatre à vingt heures.
We'd like to reserve a table for four at eight p.m.
Subjonctif présent
Highly irregular. The singular and 3pl use a special stem veuill-; the nous / vous forms use the regular voul- stem. This split mirrors the indicative stem alternation.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | veuille |
| (que) tu | veuilles |
| (qu')il / elle / on | veuille |
| (que) nous | voulions |
| (que) vous | vouliez |
| (qu')ils / elles | veuillent |
The nous / vous subjunctive forms (voulions, vouliez) are identical to the imparfait — context distinguishes them.
Bien qu'il veuille partir tôt, il restera jusqu'à la fin.
Although he wants to leave early, he'll stay until the end.
Il faudra qu'ils veuillent bien nous écouter.
They'll have to be willing to listen to us.
Impératif
The imperative of vouloir is taken from the subjunctive stem and is heavily restricted in use. Veuille and veuillons exist on paper but are rare. The form you must know is veuillez, used as a fixed politeness formula in formal correspondence and on signs.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | veuille |
| (nous) | veuillons |
| (vous) | veuillez |
Veuillez + infinitive translates as "please" in formal contexts — it is what you say in a business letter, a recorded announcement, or an instruction to the public.
Veuillez patienter quelques instants.
Please wait a few moments. (formal — sign / announcement)
Veuillez agréer, Madame, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.
Yours faithfully. (formal letter closing)
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: voulu (agrees as a normal participle when used with avoir and a preceding direct object: les pommes que j'ai voulues)
- Participe présent: voulant
- Gérondif: en voulant
En voulant trop bien faire, j'ai tout cassé.
By trying to do too well, I broke everything.
The compound tenses
Vouloir uses avoir as its auxiliary in compound tenses. Standard avoir + voulu.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + voulu
J'ai voulu t'appeler hier soir, mais il était trop tard.
I wanted to call you last night, but it was too late.
Il n'a jamais voulu me dire ce qui s'était passé.
He never would tell me what had happened.
A subtle but important point: vouloir in the passé composé often translates to English tried — it conveys a willed attempt at a one-time moment, especially in the negative (il n'a pas voulu = he refused / he wouldn't). The imparfait voulait expresses an ongoing desire (il voulait = he wanted, as a sustained state).
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + voulu
J'avais voulu te prévenir, mais on m'a dit que tu dormais.
I had wanted to warn you, but I was told you were sleeping.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + voulu
Quand tu auras voulu faire la paix, tu verras qu'il est trop tard.
When you finally want to make peace, you'll see it's too late.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + voulu
J'aurais voulu te le dire en personne, pas par message.
I would have liked to tell you in person, not by text.
J'aurais voulu + infinitive is one of the most common ways to express regret about a past wish — "I would have liked to..."
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + voulu
Je suis désolé qu'elle ait voulu partir si vite.
I'm sorry she wanted to leave so quickly.
The core uses
1. Expressing desire: vouloir + noun or infinitive
The basic meaning. Followed directly by a noun or by an infinitive — no preposition.
Je veux dormir, j'ai eu une journée affreuse.
I want to sleep, I've had a terrible day.
Tu veux du thé ou tu préfères du café ?
Do you want tea or do you prefer coffee?
Elle veut devenir vétérinaire depuis qu'elle a cinq ans.
She's wanted to become a vet since she was five.
2. Vouloir que + subjunctive — desire about someone else's action
When the desire is about a different subject's action, French requires a subordinate clause introduced by que, and the verb in that clause goes into the subjunctive. This is the core logic of the subjunctive: the action you want is not yet a fact, it is something you wish into reality.
Je veux que tu m'écoutes attentivement.
I want you to listen to me carefully.
Mes parents veulent que je rentre avant minuit.
My parents want me to come home before midnight.
Elle ne veut pas que ses enfants regardent la télé en mangeant.
She doesn't want her kids watching TV while eating.
3. Polite requests: je voudrais + infinitive or noun
The conditional voudrais is the standard polite "I would like." It is appropriate in any service context (cafés, shops, restaurants), formal correspondence, and any conversation with someone you don't know well. Je veux is direct to the point of being curt with strangers; je voudrais is the neutral civil register.
Bonjour, je voudrais un pain de campagne et une demi-baguette.
Hello, I'd like a country loaf and a half-baguette.
On voudrait changer notre réservation, c'est possible ?
We'd like to change our reservation — is that possible?
High-frequency idioms
Vouloir dire — to mean
Literally "to want to say." This is the standard French equivalent of English to mean when asking about meaning.
Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire, « marrant » ?
What does 'marrant' mean?
Ça ne veut rien dire, ce qu'il raconte.
What he's saying makes no sense.
En vouloir à quelqu'un — to hold a grudge against / be angry with someone
The en here is fixed and meaningless on its own — the construction is idiomatic. En vouloir à is followed by a person; the optional de + noun/infinitive specifies what for.
Je ne lui en veux pas, c'était un malentendu.
I'm not mad at him, it was a misunderstanding.
Tu m'en veux encore pour ce que j'ai dit hier ?
Are you still mad at me for what I said yesterday?
Vouloir bien — to be willing / to agree (reluctantly)
Vouloir bien signals consent or willingness, often with a shade of "fine, I'll do it" or "if you insist."
Je veux bien te prêter ma voiture, mais sois prudent.
I'm willing to lend you my car, but be careful.
— Tu prends un café ? — Je veux bien, merci.
— Are you having a coffee? — Sure, thanks.
Si tu veux / si vous voulez — "if you like / if you want"
A common discourse marker, used to soften a suggestion or invite agreement.
On peut se voir demain, si tu veux.
We can meet tomorrow, if you like.
Vouloir à tout prix — to want at all costs
Elle veut à tout prix faire ce voyage avant ses trente ans.
She's determined to take this trip before she turns thirty.
Comparison with English
Three friction points for English speakers:
- Politeness through tense, not modal stacking. English layers modals (could you, would you, might I); French swaps je veux for je voudrais. Same shift in formality, different mechanism.
- The same-subject vs. different-subject split. English happily says "I want you to leave" or "I want to leave" with parallel structure. French splits these: je veux partir (same subject) vs. je veux que tu partes (different subject + subjunctive). Beginners routinely produce je veux toi de partir, which is impossible.
- Vouloir dire is not optional. English speakers translating "what does this mean?" often say qu'est-ce que ça signifie? — which is grammatical and even slightly formal, but in everyday French qu'est-ce que ça veut dire? is far more frequent. Use vouloir dire by default.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using je veux in service contexts.
❌ Je veux un café.
Grammatical but rude in a café — French uses the conditional *je voudrais* by default with strangers.
✅ Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a coffee, please.
Mistake 2: Calquing English "want someone to do."
❌ Je veux toi venir avec moi.
Wrong — French requires *que* + subjunctive when the subjects differ.
✅ Je veux que tu viennes avec moi.
I want you to come with me.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the subjunctive after vouloir que.
❌ Je veux que tu pars maintenant.
Wrong — *que* after *vouloir* triggers the subjunctive: *partes*, not *pars*.
✅ Je veux que tu partes maintenant.
I want you to leave now.
Mistake 4: Adding a preposition before the infinitive.
❌ Je veux de partir tôt.
Wrong — *vouloir* takes a bare infinitive, no preposition.
✅ Je veux partir tôt.
I want to leave early.
Mistake 5: Confusing en vouloir à with regular vouloir.
❌ Je veux à mon frère.
Wrong — to express anger you must include *en*: *j'en veux à mon frère*.
✅ J'en veux à mon frère pour ce qu'il a dit.
I'm mad at my brother for what he said.
Key takeaways
Vouloir is the verb of wanting — and the core verb behind polite requests in French. The conditional je voudrais is what you say in cafés, shops, and any service context; je veux is reserved for direct desires among intimates.
The paradigm has four stems: veu- (singular present), voul- (nous/vous, imparfait, infinitive base), voudr- (futur and conditional), and veuill- (subjunctive singular and 3pl). Memorize je voudrais and veuillez as fixed politeness items even before you have the rest of the paradigm.
Three idioms are non-negotiable: vouloir dire (to mean), en vouloir à (to be mad at), vouloir bien (to be willing). And the subjunctive trigger: vouloir que + different subject → subjunctive in the subordinate clause. Je veux que tu viennes, never je veux que tu viens.
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