There are no preferences and the meaning is the same. For die hard grammar lovers, here’s an excellent explanation with lots of examples: That’s because there are two ways to form the subjunctive in German: You can either take the simple route and use “würde” + infinitive, or you can learn the irregular forms of the verbs in subjunctive. It is another very polite way to express a desire, and its meaning is exactly the same as “würde…haben”. “Hätte” – sounds weird but is true: This is exactly the same as number 2. Guest: “Ich würde gern die Suppe haben” (I would like the soup have. Waiter: “Bitte schön?” (Please beautiful – How may I help you?) To give another example of when to use “würde” (or, to be exact, “würde…haben”), if in a nice restaurant asked for your order, the situation would be as follows: Thus, would drink = würde trinken, would sing = würde singen, etc. Just as a side note: würde + infinitive is the very common, very easy way to form the subjunctive in German. If, for example, asked whether you’d like anything to drink, your reply would usually be, “Ich würde gern eine Cola haben” (I would like a coke have – I’d like to have a coke). Just as in English, this is a more polite way to express the same idea. “Würde” – this translates into “would like”.

Or, to give another example, if you’re at McDonald’s ordering a Big Mac, you could say “Ich möchte einen Big Mac, bitte” (I want a Big Mac, please) without being impolite at all.Ģ. For example, if asked, “Do you want tea or coffee?” – “ Möchtest du Tee oder Kaffee?” (“Want you tea or coffee?” informal), you could reply “Ich möchte Tee.” (I want tea). You’d use this to say that you want something when you’re among friends that you know well or if you don’t care to be extremely polite in a given situation. “Möchte” – in English, this translates into “want”. The difference between the three ways to say it – the difference between “möchte” (1), “würde” (2) and “hätte” (3) – is the following:ġ. These sentences essentially all mean the same – somebody would love some tea and is asking for it. (I would-have like something tea – I would like some tea, please.) (I would like something tea have – I would like some tea, please.)ģ. (I want something tea – I want some tea, please.)Ģ.

The English sentence “I’d like some tea” can be translated into German in three different ways:ġ. When Should I Say Möchte, Würde or Hätte?

German to english grammar translation