Mögen ("to like") is the modal verb of preference and affection, and it hides a second life that learners meet almost before they meet mögen itself: its Konjunktiv II form möchte ("would like"). Möchte is so common, and so much softer than wollen, that beginners often use it for weeks without realising it is a form of mögen at all. The two faces of this verb — mögen "to like (something/someone)" and möchte "would like (to have / to do)" — cover an enormous amount of everyday conversation, especially anything to do with food, drink, taste, and polite requests.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| mögen | mochte | gemocht (hat) |
Read this as mögen – mochte – hat gemocht. Watch the orthography closely: the infinitive has an ö (mögen), but the past stem loses the umlaut and changes vowel to o — mochte, gemocht. The umlaut comes back, however, in the Konjunktiv II: möchte. So this one verb gives you all three vowels — mög-, moch-, möch- — and mixing them up is the single most common spelling error here.
Präsens (present): the "to like" face
In the present, mögen changes its stem vowel from ö to a in the singular and shows the modal pattern (no ending on ich and er/sie/es).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | mag |
| du | magst |
| er / sie / es | mag |
| wir | mögen |
| ihr | mögt |
| sie / Sie | mögen |
In its present tense, mögen almost always works as a full verb with a direct object in the accusative, not as a modal with a following infinitive. This is its key difference from the other modals: you like a thing or a person, you don't usually "like to do" with present mögen (German prefers gern + verb for that — see below). See the accusative object.
Ich mag scharfes Essen, aber mein Mann verträgt es nicht.
I like spicy food, but my husband can't handle it. (mag + accusative object)
Magst du Hunde?
Do you like dogs? (informal)
Meine Tochter mag ihre neue Lehrerin sehr.
My daughter really likes her new teacher.
To say you like doing something, Germans normally use the adverb gern with an ordinary verb, not mögen + infinitive:
Ich schwimme gern im Meer.
I like swimming in the sea. (gern + verb — NOT 'ich mag schwimmen')
möchte: the "would like" face
Möchte is the Konjunktiv II of mögen, and it is the polite, everyday way to say "I would like." Unlike present mögen, möchte freely takes either a direct object ("I'd like a coffee") or a bare infinitive ("I'd like to leave"). It is gentler and more courteous than wollen ("want"), which is why waiters, shoppers, and polite requesters reach for it constantly.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | möchte |
| du | möchtest |
| er / sie / es | möchte |
| wir | möchten |
| ihr | möchtet |
| sie / Sie | möchten |
Ich möchte bitte einen Kaffee und ein Stück Kuchen.
I'd like a coffee and a piece of cake, please. (möchte + accusative — the standard café request)
Möchtest du heute Abend ins Kino gehen?
Would you like to go to the cinema tonight? (möchte + infinitive 'gehen')
Präteritum (simple past)
The past stem is mocht- (vowel o, no umlaut), with weak endings. Like the other modals, this Präteritum is fully at home in spoken German.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | mochte |
| du | mochtest |
| er / sie / es | mochte |
| wir | mochten |
| ihr | mochtet |
| sie / Sie | mochten |
Als Kind mochte ich keinen Spinat.
As a child I didn't like spinach. (Präteritum is natural here even in speech)
Wir mochten den Film alle sehr.
We all really liked the film.
Perfekt (present perfect)
In its full-verb meaning "to like," mögen takes haben + the participle gemocht.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gemocht |
| du | hast gemocht |
| er / sie / es | hat gemocht |
| wir | haben gemocht |
| ihr | habt gemocht |
| sie / Sie | haben gemocht |
Ich habe ihn vom ersten Moment an gemocht.
I liked him from the very first moment. (full-verb Perfekt: hat gemocht)
On the rare occasions mögen governs a second verb, the Perfekt switches to the double infinitive like the other modals (hat ... mögen), but this is uncommon — in speech the Präteritum mochte is far more usual. See modals in the Perfekt.
Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)
Past auxiliary hatte + gemocht.
Ich hatte das Lied nie besonders gemocht, bis ich den Text verstand.
I'd never particularly liked the song until I understood the lyrics.
Futur I
Future with werden + infinitive mögen — quite rare, since liking is rarely projected into the future.
Ob sie das neue Büro mögen wird, wird sich zeigen.
Whether she'll like the new office remains to be seen.
Konjunktiv II — already covered by möchte
The Konjunktiv II of mögen is möchte, given in full above. This is unusual: for most verbs the Konjunktiv II is a hypothetical "would" form, but for mögen this form has split off into an independent, everyday courtesy verb. There is no separate mög- Konjunktiv you need to learn — möchte is it. Note the umlaut: möchte, not mochte (which is the past). See Konjunktiv II of the modals.
Ich möchte nicht unhöflich sein, aber das passt mir gar nicht.
I don't want to be rude, but that doesn't suit me at all. (möchte softens the statement)
Konjunktiv I (reported speech)
Used in formal indirect speech. The base is möge, which also survives in fixed wishes and blessings.
Möge das neue Jahr euch Glück bringen!
May the new year bring you happiness! (literary/formulaic Konjunktiv I)
Common idioms and fixed expressions
| Expression | English |
|---|---|
| Ich mag dich. | I like you. (warm but not romantic — weaker than 'Ich liebe dich') |
| Das mag sein. | That may be / could be true. |
| Wie du magst. | As you like / whatever you prefer. |
| Ich möchte meinen, dass ... | I would venture to say that ... (formal) |
| Man möge bedenken ... | One should consider ... (formal/literary, Konjunktiv I) |
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich möchte schwimmen jeden Tag.
Word order aside, the deeper issue: to say you enjoy doing something habitually, Germans use 'gern', not möchte (which is a one-off wish).
✅ Ich schwimme jeden Tag gern.
I like to swim every day. (gern + verb for general enjoyment)
❌ Ich mochte gern einen Tee.
Incorrect — 'mochte' is the past ('liked'); the polite request 'would like' is the umlauted möchte.
✅ Ich möchte gern einen Tee.
I'd like a tea, please.
❌ Er mögt klassische Musik.
Incorrect — the er-form changes vowel and takes no ending: er mag.
✅ Er mag klassische Musik.
He likes classical music.
❌ Ich habe diesen Film sehr gemögt.
Incorrect participle — the past forms drop the umlaut: gemocht, not 'gemögt'.
✅ Ich habe diesen Film sehr gemocht.
I really liked this film.
❌ Ich mag dich treffen.
Misleading — present 'mag' + infinitive sounds odd/archaic; to propose meeting up, use möchte.
✅ Ich möchte dich treffen.
I'd like to meet you.
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: mögen – mochte – hat gemocht (Perfekt with haben).
- Present "to like": mag, magst, mag, mögen, mögt, mögen — vowel ö → a, usually with an accusative object.
- möchte = "would like" is the everyday courtesy form; it takes objects and infinitives.
- Three vowels, three jobs: mög- (infinitive/we/they), moch- (past), möch- (would like). Don't confuse mochte (past) with möchte (would like).
- To enjoy doing something habitually, use gern
- ordinary verb, not mögen
- infinitive.
- ordinary verb, not mögen
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- mögen and möchte: Liking and Polite WishingA2 — How mögen means 'to like' (usually with a direct object) and how its Konjunktiv II möchte became the everyday polite 'would like' for orders and requests.
- Modal Verbs: OverviewA2 — The six German modal verbs, their shared word order, and the irregular present tense that makes ich and er identical.
- Konjunktiv II of Modal VerbsB1 — könnte, müsste, dürfte, sollte, möchte — the high-frequency modal subjunctives behind polite and tentative German, and the umlaut that separates them from the plain past.
- Modals in the Perfekt and Subordinate ClausesB2 — Why modals prefer the Präteritum in speech, how the double infinitive (Ersatzinfinitiv) works, when the participle gekonnt/gemusst appears, and how subordinate clauses front the auxiliary.
- wollen: Full Conjugation and UsageA2 — Complete conjugation of the modal verb wollen 'to want' across every tense and mood, with the will = want false-friend trap, principal parts, idioms, and the errors English speakers make.
- The Accusative CaseA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — and because only masculine articles visibly change, masculine 'den/einen' is the system's single biggest stumbling block.