voudriez-vous
In French, "would you like" is expressed as voudriez-vous.
voudriez-vous is a polite way to offer something or to ask if someone wants to do something.
Which one should you use?
While Voulez-vous means "Do you want", it is more direct and assertive. In contrast, Voudriez-vous uses the conditional mood to add a layer of politeness and softness to your offer.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the informal expression Tu veux-tu is used to ask "Would you like?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase voudriez-vous is the inverted question form of vous voudriez, which is the polite/formal way to say "you would like". If you are speaking to a single person you know well, such as a friend or a child, you would use tu voudrais or the inverted form voudrais-tu.
Did you know?
- If you are offering something very casually, French speakers often skip voudriez-vous entirely and just say the noun with a rising intonation, such as Un café ?
- While voudriez-vous is polite, French speakers often use the word je voudrais to order food because using je veux (I want) can be perceived as rude or childish.
- In French, the difference between 'wanting' and 'would like' is often a matter of power dynamics, where the conditional mood used in voudriez-vous grants the listener more agency.
Examples in context
- En voudriez-vous un ?Would you like one?This sentence is useful for asking if someone would like one using voudriez-vous.Tatoeba #5050007 by sacredceltic, translation #2892981 by CK
- Voudriez-vous du café ?Would you like some coffee?This sentence is useful for offering coffee using voudriez-vous.Tatoeba #2196250 by sacredceltic, translation #62220 by CK
- Voudriez-vous de l'aide ?Would you like some help?This sentence is useful for offering help using voudriez-vous.Tatoeba #1436383 by sacredceltic, translation #1406830 by CK
- Voudriez-vous un café ?Would you like a coffee?
- Tu veux un verre d'eau ?Would you like a glass of water?
- Vous voulez un morceau de gâteau ?Would you like a piece of cake?
- Tu veux bien un thé ?Would you like a tea?
- 92 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are at a restaurant.
- NathanVoudriez-vous partager l'entrée, Emma ?Would you like to share the appetizer, Emma?
- EmmaOui, c'est une excellente idée.Yes, that is an excellent idea.
- NathanEt voudriez-vous un verre de vin ?And would you like a glass of wine?
- EmmaNon merci, je vais prendre de l'eau.No thank you, I will have some water.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
