Vil looks exactly like English "will," and that resemblance is the most expensive false friend in Norwegian. Its primary meaning is not neutral future — it is want. This page works through the volitional core, the vil ha = "want" construction, the secondary prediction sense, and the conditional ville. For the shared modal mechanics (endingless present, bare infinitive), see the modals overview; for the full picture of how Norwegian builds the future, see future overview.
The forms at a glance
A pure modal: endingless present, bare infinitive, and a doubled l through the past forms. That doubled-l preterite ville is also the conditional "would," which we come to below.
| Present | Preterite | Infinitive | Supine (perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|
| vil | ville | å ville | villet |
| want / will | wanted / would | to want | (have) wanted |
One form for every subject: jeg vil, du vil, hun vil, vi vil, de vil. No -r, no agreement.
Sense 1: volition — vil means WANT
This is the meaning to internalise first, because it is the default. Vil + a bare infinitive expresses what the subject wants to do.
Jeg vil reise til Japan en gang.
I want to travel to Japan someday.
Hun vil ikke snakke om det akkurat nå.
She doesn't want to talk about it right now.
Vil du danse?
Do you want to dance?
Negated, vil ikke is a flat "don't want to" — sometimes even "refuse to." Jeg vil ikke on its own is the everyday way to say "I don't want to."
Jeg vil ikke, og det er det.
I don't want to, and that's that.
The key construction: vil ha = "want" (a thing)
To want a thing (not an action), Norwegian says vil ha — literally "will have," but meaning simply want. This is the standard, everyday way to express desire for an object, and it's worth drilling until it's automatic, because there is no single high-frequency verb "to want" the way English has. Vil ha fills that role.
Jeg vil ha en kaffe, takk.
I'd like a coffee, please.
Hva vil du ha til middag?
What do you want for dinner?
Barna vil ha is, men det er for kaldt.
The kids want ice cream, but it's too cold.
A learner who maps vil to "will" will read jeg vil ha en kaffe as a bizarre "I will have a coffee" prediction. It is not a prediction — it is an order at the counter: "I want a coffee."
Sense 2: prediction / future (secondary, and often ambiguous)
Vil does have a future-like, predictive sense — but it predicts how things will turn out, often with a flavour of inevitability or tendency rather than a personal plan. This is most natural with non-personal subjects and abstract outcomes.
Det vil ta tid å lære seg språket skikkelig.
It will take time to learn the language properly.
Klimaendringene vil påvirke alle.
Climate change will affect everyone.
With a personal subject, vil is genuinely ambiguous between "want" and "will," and Norwegians read "want" first. Jeg vil reise i morgen leans toward "I want to travel tomorrow," not a neutral "I will travel tomorrow." When you mean a plain, planned intention, Norwegian prefers skal (see modal-skal).
Jeg vil betale.
I want to pay. (NOT a neutral 'I'll pay'.)
Jeg skal betale.
I'll pay. (a neutral commitment)
Sense 3: the conditional ville = "would"
The preterite ville doubles as the conditional "would" — the form for hypotheticals, polite wishes and reported volition. Ville gjerne ("would gladly") is an especially common polite formula.
Jeg ville gjerne komme, men jeg er bortreist.
I'd love to come, but I'm away.
Det ville vært fint med litt sol nå.
It would be nice with a bit of sun right now.
Hun sa at hun ville ringe senere.
She said she would call later.
In the last example, ville is reported "would" — the past-tense echo of her present-tense vil ("I'll call"). So ville spans "wanted," "would (like)," and reported future, all from the one doubled-l form.
Why English speakers must demote vil
English "will" is a colourless future auxiliary; it carries no desire. Norwegian vil carries desire as its core. So mapping "will → vil" produces sentences that sound either pushy or odd: jeg vil hjelpe deg offered as a neutral "I'll help you" actually announces "I want to help you" — fine in some contexts, but not the neutral promise you intended. For a plain commitment or scheduled future, reach for skal or the kommer til å construction instead. Consciously demoting vil from "will" to "want" is the single most important adjustment an English speaker makes with this verb.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg vil sende deg fakturaen i morgen. (meaning a neutral 'I will send…')
Misleading — heard as 'I WANT to send you the invoice.'
✅ Jeg skal sende deg fakturaen i morgen.
I'll send you the invoice tomorrow. (a commitment)
For a neutral promise or scheduled future, use skal, not vil. Vil announces desire.
❌ Jeg vil en kaffe.
Incomplete — to want a thing needs the verb ha.
✅ Jeg vil ha en kaffe.
I want a coffee.
To want a thing, use vil ha. Vil alone needs a following verb; vil ha is the fixed "want (something)" construction.
❌ Jeg viler reise.
Incorrect — an -r/-er ending forced onto the modal.
✅ Jeg vil reise.
I want to travel.
The present is endingless for every subject: jeg vil, du vil, de vil. Never viler.
❌ Jeg vil å ha en kaffe.
Incorrect — å inserted after the modal.
✅ Jeg vil ha en kaffe.
I want a coffee.
A modal governs a bare infinitive — no å. Vil ha, never vil å ha.
❌ Jeg vil komme i går.
Tense clash — past-time wish needs the preterite.
✅ Jeg ville gjerne komme i går, men jeg var syk.
I would have liked to come yesterday, but I was ill.
For past or hypothetical "would (like)," use the preterite ville (double l), not present vil.
Key Takeaways
- Forms: vil / ville / villet — endingless present, bare infinitive, double l in the past.
- The default meaning is want, not English "will." Demote vil from "will" to "want."
- vil ha = "want (a thing)" — the everyday construction for desiring an object: jeg vil ha en kaffe.
- A secondary prediction sense exists (det vil ta tid), but with personal subjects Norwegians read "want" first.
- The preterite ville is also the conditional "would" — jeg ville gjerne... "I'd love to…".
- For a neutral future or promise, prefer skal (see modal-skal).
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Modal Verbs: OverviewA2 — The six core Norwegian modals (kan, vil, skal, må, bør, få), their endingless present forms, their preterites, and the bare infinitive they govern — no å.
- skal / skulle: Plans, Obligation, FutureA2 — The modal skal (skulle / skullet) — planned future and intention, externally imposed obligation, arrangements and offers, plus the evidential 'is said to be' sense with no English equivalent.
- The Future: skal, vil, kommer til å, presentA2 — Norwegian has no dedicated future tense — instead it uses four strategies (present, skal, vil, kommer til å), each with its own nuance, and vil is a trap for English speakers.
- vil vs ønske vs ha lyst: Want and Would LikeB1 — Norwegian has no single verb 'to want' — it's vil ha (+ object), ha lyst (på/til) for 'feel like', ønske (seg) for considered wishes, and vil gjerne ha for the polite 'would like'.