mögen vs möchten vs wollen

What is the deal with mögen, möchten and wollen? Mögen means “to like”, but there is also “gern haben”, which means “to like”. There is also “wollen”, which means to want and this word, I see all of the time called “möchten”, but for some reason can’t find in my dictionary. It seems to mean the same as “wollen”. So what is the difference? What are mögen, möchten, and wollen? How do I use them? I just don’t get it.

Sit back and relax. In this German grammar lesson I’ll explain what mögen, möchten, and wollen are, how to conjugate them, the differences between them and how to use them.

Meanings of mögen, möchten and wollen 

First of all, let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. “mögen” means “to like”. “möchten” is technically a form of “mögen”, which I’ll explain in more detail in a bit. The important part is that it means “would like”. “wollen” means “to want”. Let’s see how they look in sentences and follow the change in meaning.

Wir mögen Pizza. -
We like pizza.

Wir möchten Pizza. -
We would like pizza.

Wir wollen Pizza. -
We want pizza.

The outlier here is “mögen”, as it doesn’t mean anything close to the other two. It simply shows that we like pizza. Both the second and third sentence are essentially the same as each other, but “möchten” is considered more polite than “wollen”, just as “would like” is more polite than “want” in English.

Whiny Kid: Mutti! Ich will Schokolade. -
Mommy! I want chocolate.
Proper Kid: Liebe Mutter, ich möchte Schokolade. -
Mother dear, I would like chocolate.

mögen - Meaning, Conjugation and Use

Since “mögen” is the odd man out, let’s take a deeper look at it before we move on to the other two. Let’s get the conjugation out of the way, so you know why it looks the way it does in my example sentences here in a bit.

Only the singular forms “ich, du, er, sie, es” have the stem change. This is standard across all modal verbs, also known as modal auxiliaries. You may be familiar with “dürfen” changing to “darf”. It is the same reasoning. Because that’s how it works with these verbs.

mögen vs gern haben

As I alluded to in the intro, “mögen” means “to like” and when you use “gern” in a sentence, it changes it to mean you like doing whatever the verb is in the sentence. If you use it with “haben”, it simply means you like whatever the object of the sentence is. This, of course, means that you can often interchange “mögen” and “gern haben”. For example:

Ich mag Züge. -
I like trains.

Ich habe Züge gern. -
I like trains.

Er mag deine Schwester. -
He likes your sister.

Er hat deine Schwester gern. -
He likes your sister.

To me, the main difference is that “gern haben” has a bit more warmth to it, but also sounds more childish. In the end, the meaning in each of the previous examples is pretty much the same. When you can’t switch them out, or at least it is less common to do so, is when you have another verb involved. If you like swimming, for example.

Ich schwimme gern. -
I like swimming.

Ich mag es zu schwimmen. -
I like swimming.

Notice how the second sentence feels a bit clunky? This is the main reason why most people avoid using “mögen” with another verb. Also, it is often translated as “may” when simply used with an infinitive instead of the “zu” construction that I used in my previous example.

Ich mag schwimmen. -
I may swim. (I might swim.)

To be safe, if you like a thing, person, place, or otherwise just a noun, you can use “mögen” or “gern haben” interchangeably and it is more common to use “mögen” in those instances. If you like an action, i.e. another verb, you are safer using that verb with “gern” instead of “mögen”.

möchten 

I mentioned earlier that “möchten” is a version of “mögen”. If you haven’t seen my lesson about the Konjunktiv 2, you may not know that “möchten” is simply the Konjunktiv 2 version of “mögen”. This changes the verb from “to like” to “would like”.

This originally was used for expressing that something contrary to reality, you know, the only purpose of using the Konjunktiv 2. Nowadays, however, it is used for making polite requests and most people don’t realize or care that “möchten” is the Konjuktiv 2 of “mögen”. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter in order for you to be able to use it properly.

I bring it up, so you know why the conjugation is a bit different than the other modal verbs and why you might have trouble finding “möchten” in your grammar book or in Duden.

The forms are the same as the Präteritum forms of “mögen”, but with umlauts. You know, the way you form the Konjunktiv 2 of things. So the conjugation of “möchten” or “mögen” in Konjunktiv 2 is:

Unlike the normal forms of “mögen”, you can and often will use “möchten” with another verb. When you do this, you will put the other verb at the end of the sentence or clause in the infinitive form.

Möchtet ihr Beispiele sehen? Ja? Dann möchte ich euch ein paar zeigen. -
Would you like to see some examples? Yes? Then I would like to show you a few.

Möchtest du am Samstag mit mir ins Kino gehen? -
Would you like to go to the movie theater with me on Saturday?

Nein. Das möchte ich nicht. -
No. I would not like that.

Möchtest du mit mir essen gehen? -
Would you like to go out to eat with me?

Nein. Das möchte ich nicht. -
No. I would not like that.

Möchtest du, dass ich jetzt weggehe? -
Would you like me to go away now?

Ja. Das möchte ich. -
Yes. I would like that.

wollen

“wollen” is used basically the same as “möchten”, but it is a bit less polite. If you walk up to your mom and say “Ich will einen Keks.” (I want a cookie.) let’s face it, you aren’t getting a cookie. If you say, “Ich möchte einen Keks.” (I would like a cookie.) she might be more apt to give you one.

You can use “wollen” with a direct object without an extra verb, as I just did or you can use it with another verb, which again will be moved to the end of the sentence or clause as an infinitive. In order to use it at all, however, you will need to conjugate it, which is as follows:

ich will - I want
ich will, dass ihr mir vertraut
(Ich will) ich will, dass ihr mir glaubt
(Ich will) ich will eure Blicke spüren
(Ich will) jeden Herzschlag kontrollieren

Sorry. It is a bit of a requirement that when you hear “ich will” you automatically start singing Rammstein. Seriously the conjugation of “wollen” goes like this:

Ich will nach Hause gehen. -
I want to go home.

Dann geh einfach nach Hause. Ich will dich nicht mehr jammern hören. -
Then go home. I don’t want to hear you whining anymore.

Das wollen wir auch. -
We want that, too.

Wollt ihr, dass ich nach Hause gehe? -
Do you all want me to go home?

Nein. Wir wollen dich nicht mehr sehen oder hören. Wenn du zu Hause bist, wird unser Traum wahr. -
No. We don’t want to see you or hear you anymore. If you are at home, our dream will become reality.

More Modal Verbs Lessons

Present Tense Introduction to Modal Verbs 

Past Tense of Modal Verbs