Polyglot Dictionary

wollen

/ˈvɔlən/

modal verb A1

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Core Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

ich/er
will
du
willst
wir/sie
wollen
past (er)
wollte

Meaning

  1. to want to

    • Ich will nach Hause.

      I want to go home.

V Category State Concreteness Abstract Agency Voluntary Duration Durative Transitivity Transitive

Similar words

mögen

wollen expresses a clear intention to act — "Ich will schlafen" (I want to sleep, and I'm going to). mögen is milder liking or preference, often without any intention attached — "Ich mag Schokolade" (I like chocolate) says nothing about acting on it right now.

Practice

1 What does wollen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Ich ___ nach Hause.

See also

verbmodal-verbirregularcore-vocabularygrammar

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