wëllen

Want: Wëllen

Level 1

Wëllen means to want: Mir wëllen heem goen. (We want to go home.)

How It Works

Present tense

  • ech wëll
  • du wëlls
  • hien / si / hatt / et wëllt (also wëll)
  • mir wëllen
  • dir wëllt
  • si wëllen
  • Dir wëllt (polite)

The dictionary lists wëllt first for he/she/it and also accepts wëll.

With an infinitive or a noun
Hie wëllt Pilot ginn. (He wants to become a pilot.) The infinitive goes to the end: see modal + infinitive. Wëllen can also take a thing directly: D'Kanner wëllen eng Glace.

The n-rule
Wëllen drops its n before most consonants: Si wëlle Fussball spillen, but Mir wëllen heem goen.

Want, not will
To talk about the future, use the present tense or wäert, not wëllen.

Being polite
Ech wëll ... is direct. When ordering, Ech hätt gär ... sounds friendlier; later you will meet the softer wéilt in conditional modals.

Examples (6)

  1. Mir wëllen heem goen.

    We want to go home.

    Word by Word: We want home go.

    Wëllen keeps its n before h.

  2. Wëlls du eppes drénken?

    Do you want something to drink?

    Word by Word: Want you something drink?

  3. Hie wëllt Pilot ginn.

    He wants to become a pilot.

    Word by Word: He wants pilot become.

  4. Ech wëll hei wunne bleiwen.

    I want to keep living here.

    Word by Word: I want here live stay.

    Wunnen loses its n before b.

  5. Wat wëllt dir haut maachen?

    What do you all want to do today?

    Word by Word: What want you-all today do?

  6. D'Kanner wëllen eng Glace.

    The children want an ice cream.

    Word by Word: The children want an ice-cream.

    Wëllen can take a noun without an infinitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using wëllen for the future, like English will.

    Ech wëll muer kommen.
    Ech komme muer.

    Intended meaning: I will come tomorrow. Ech wëll muer kommen means I want to come tomorrow. Use the present tense for the future.

  • Using the dir form for du.

    Wëllt du eppes drénken?
    Wëlls du eppes drénken?

    The du form is wëlls. Wëllt goes with hien, si, et and with dir.

  • Keeping the n of wëllen before a consonant.

    Si wëllen Fussball spillen.
    Si wëlle Fussball spillen.

    By the n-rule, wëllen becomes wëlle before f.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

wëllenLevel 1Want: Wëllen

Learn This First

Before Want: Wëllen, learn Can: Kënnen.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

wëllenwëllen