LearnModule 2 · Lesson 25 of 30Basic User · CEFR A1, completedUnit 5 · La nourriture — food

Je voudrais — ordering politely

Module 2 of the free French course (CEFR A1, completed), lesson 25 of 30: Je voudrais (I would like) is the polite want. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 25.

The words

French	English	Say it
je voudrais	I would like	zhuh voo-DREH
je voudrais un thé, s'il vous plaît	I would like a tea, please	zhuh voo-dreh uh(n) TAY seel voo PLEH
merci beaucoup	thank you very much	mehr-see boh-KOO
de rien	you are welcome	duh RYA(n)
au café	at the café	oh kah-FAY
le menu	the menu	luh muh-NEW
l'additionfeminine — the article elides to l'	the bill	lah-dee-SYOH(n)

Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.

Hear the words

Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.

La règle · The rule

Je voudrais (I would like) is the polite want — the form every café order starts with: Je voudrais un chocolat chaud, s'il vous plaît.

Et aussi · And also

The four-line café scene: Bonjour! Je voudrais un jus de pomme, s'il vous plaît. — Voilà! — Merci beaucoup! — De rien!

Attention · Watch out

je voudrais is the polite want; je veux (I want) is blunt in a café. Order with je voudrais, and add s'il vous plaît.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je voudrais.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 25 in Module 2 are the written half of this page.

This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.

Keep these words

Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.

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