Timeline for Isn't it demanding to ask for something with "Ich möchte"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Nov 30, 2022 at 6:30 | vote | accept | user610620 | ||
| Oct 6, 2021 at 18:18 | comment | added | leftaroundabout | @cruthers “Darf ich ein Stück Kuchen haben?” is definitely possible, in fact a very polite phrasing. In a restaurant/bakery this would be almost a bit under-assertive – if they have cake then surely they'd allow you to buy a piece! Where the question form is of course the way to go is when you really do ask whether it's possible, like “haben sie heute Steinbutt da?” And if you ask for something to drink in a non-restaurant setting then “kann ich ein Glas Wasser haben?” would be the most usual way. | |
| Oct 5, 2021 at 16:19 | comment | added | cruthers | Do people thereabouts ever order food in the form of a question? For example: "Darf ich ein Stück Kuchen haben?" | |
| Oct 5, 2021 at 15:21 | comment | added | Michael Kay | "Ich möchte" is subjunctive "I would like" and that already softens it compared with the rarely heard "Ich mag" ("I like"). Also used is "Ich möchte gerne" (loosely, "I would love to have") which again makes it less of a demand. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 13:58 | comment | added | quarague | To me, 'ich nehme' sounds more demanding than 'ich möchte' although both are fine. I've also occasionally heard 'ich kriege' but that might come over rude, so I wouldn't recommend using it. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 13:53 | comment | added | Pablo H | I've been told that (at least around Dresden) people say mostly "Ich hätte gerne ..., bitte" rather than "Ich möchte ..., (bitte)". | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 12:31 | comment | added | leftaroundabout | @Alex “Ich will die Pasta bitte” does sound bad, like the “bitte” was just an afterthought. But “ich will” can indeed be fine with some extra soft-wrapping, e.g. “ich will gerne die Pasta probieren”. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 12:22 | comment | added | mkrieger1 | The infinitive form is "mögen", not "möchten", by the way. See the other answer. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 9:13 | comment | added | Alex | to be honest, you'd usually always add bitte so even "Ich will die Pasta bitte" doesnt sound rude or too demanding. Its a bad style, sure, but I doubt this will be frowned upon. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 8:36 | comment | added | Henning Kockerbeck | @RossPresser It may be helpful, though, to note that "möchten" and "may" don't have the same meaning. "Möchten" refers to the will, the want, the desire that someone has: "Ich möchte dieses Buch kaufen", "I'd like to buy this book". On the other hand, "may" is more about permission, which would put it in the vincinity of the German "dürfen": "Darf ich mir dieses Buch leihen?", "May I borrow this book?" And I wouldn't consider it that soft in the spectrum, because it kind of thrusts the speaker's will on the listener. But that would be a discussion of finer graduation. | |
| Oct 4, 2021 at 0:07 | comment | added | Ross Presser | möchte is actually cognate to English "may", so it's pretty soft in the demand spectrum. | |
| Oct 3, 2021 at 15:37 | comment | added | planetmaker | Spot on, +1. Add to that a bit of cultural difference that Germans tend to be to-the-point and not beating around the bush, "ich möchte" is totally acceptable. | |
| Oct 3, 2021 at 14:23 | history | edited | Henning Kockerbeck | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 260 characters in body
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| Oct 3, 2021 at 14:14 | history | answered | Henning Kockerbeck | CC BY-SA 4.0 |