A1 · beginner #MOEGEN

mögen and möchten

mögen · möchten

mögen means “to like” and möchten means “would like”; they are two forms of the same verb.

Two faces of the same verb, doing completely different jobs: Ich mag Kaffee means “I like coffee”, while Ich möchte einen Kaffee means “I’d like a coffee”. Pick the wrong one in a café and you haven’t ordered anything.

Contents

Two forms, one verb

Shortcutmöchten is the polite form of mögen — not a separate verb. But in everyday speech the two carry different meanings.

In the dictionary you see one entry; in conversation you hear two separate things. So the most practical route is to memorise them separately: one talks about liking, the other about wanting. English does the same with “I like” and “I’d like” — German just spells the difference differently.

Person	mögen · I like	möchten · I’d like
ich	mag	möchte
du	magst	möchtest
er / sie / es	mag	möchte
wir	mögen	möchten
ihr	mögt	möchtet
sie / Sie	mögen	möchten

In both columns the ich and er rows are the same — the fixed rule for modal verbs. möchte ends in -e, but that is not a person ending; it is the polite form’s own ending.

mögen — to like, to be fond of

mögen usually takes no second verb: what you like comes straight after it. That is what sets it apart from the other modals.

Ich mag Kaffee. I like coffee. general liking
Magst du Fisch? Do you like fish? question
Sie mag keine Katzen. She doesn’t like cats. negative · kein
Ich mag meinen neuen Job. I like my new job. Akkusativ object
Wir mögen uns. We like each other. for people
Ich mag nicht mehr. I’ve had enough. / I don’t feel like it any more. set phrase, no object

Careful with negatives: if the noun has no article, use kein, not nicht — Ich mag keinen Fisch. Details on the negation page.

möchten — to want, to ask for

möchten is the modal verb you will hear most in Germany: in cafés, shops, at reception, at the doctor’s. It is used in two ways — directly with an object, or with a second verb.

Structure	Example	English
möchten + object	Ich möchte einen Tee.	I’d like a tea.
möchten + infinitive	Ich möchte zahlen.	I’d like to pay.
Question — offer	Möchten Sie etwas trinken?	Would you like something to drink?
Politeness add-on	Ich möchte bitte einen Kaffee.	Could I have a coffee, please?

bitte can sit in the middle of the sentence or at the end. Both are natural, and both clearly soften the tone.

ShortcutWhen you are asking for something, always möchten. wollen is blunt and mögen means “I like” — neither is an order.

Put all three side by side: mag · möchte · will

English blurs them too: “I like”, “I’d like” and “I want” all sit in the same neighbourhood. German builds three different sentences out of them, and picking the wrong one in a café is one of the most common mistakes.

Ich mag Kaffee.

I like coffee. (in general)

Ich möchte einen Kaffee.

I’d like a coffee. (right now, an order)

Ich will einen Kaffee.

I want a coffee. — sounds blunt, a bit childish

Verb	What it says	Where it is used
mögen	I like, I’m fond of	Talking about taste
möchten	I’d like now (polite)	Orders, requests, offers
wollen	I’ve decided, I want	Talking about goals and intentions

wollen has its own page, with the full politeness contrast, here.

Traps

TRAP 01

Using mögen to place an order

mögen describes taste; it doesn’t order anything. The waiter thinks “nice, so do we” and brings nothing.

Ich mag einen Kaffee.

a statement of taste, not an order

Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.

Could I have a coffee?

TRAP 02

Adding a person ending to möchte

möchte is already a finished form; it is the same for ich and er.

Er möchtet einen Tee.

no -t ending on a modal

Er möchte einen Tee.

He’d like a tea.

TRAP 03

Using möchten to say what you like

If you are describing a general taste, möchten is wrong — it reports a wish of the moment.

Ich möchte Katzen.

sounds like “I’d like some cats right now”

Ich mag Katzen.

I like cats.

Practice now

What you just learned

Ich ___ Pizza sehr.
Show the answer
mag, Mag — mag. The first person singular (ich) of mögen is irregular: the stem vowel changes and it becomes mag.
I’d like a coffee. (ordering politely in a café)
Show the answer
Ich möchte einen Kaffee. — möchte. An order is always placed with möchten. mag means “I like”, and will sounds blunt.
Er ___ einen Tee.
Show the answer
möchte. With modal verbs the er/sie/es form is the same as ich. möchtet is the ihr form and möchtest the du form.

The other modal verbs

Same group

Modal verbs — overview The verb wollen The verb können The verb müssen The verb dürfen The verb sollen

07Build

Build the sentence yourself

Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.

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Tips

Know this before the test

The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.

mag = I like, möchte = I’d like
Ich mag Kaffee is a general taste; Ich möchte einen Kaffee is a wish of the moment. Mix them up and you misreport either your character or your order.
Ich mag Katzen. · Ich möchte einen Tee.
mögen is usually on its own
It comes from the modal family but is normally used without a second verb: Ich mag Fisch.
Magst du Fisch?
Ordering: möchte + bitte
Ich möchte zahlen, bitte. · Möchten Sie etwas trinken? — service language is this pattern from start to finish.
Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.
Conjugation: mag/möchte are separate rows
ich mag · du magst · er mag · ihr mögt — ich möchte · du möchtest · er möchte (no -t in the third person singular!).
er möchte

Ich mag einen Kaffee. (when ordering)
Ich möchte einen Kaffee.
mag is general liking; the waiter looks at you as if to say “and?”.
Er möchtet einen Tee.
Er möchte einen Tee.
möchte takes no -t in the third person singular.
Ich möchte nicht Kaffee.
Ich möchte keinen Kaffee.
The noun is negated with kein.
Sie mag nicht Fisch.
Sie mag keinen Fisch.
Same rule: a bare noun + kein.

0705:40

Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

I’d like a coffee. (ordering politely in a café)

möchte. An order is always placed with möchten. mag means “I like”, and will sounds blunt.

I like cats.

mag. A general taste is being described → mögen. möchte slides towards “I want some right now”.

Er einen Tee.

He’d like a tea.

möchte. With modal verbs the er/sie/es form is the same as ich. möchtet is the ihr form and möchtest the du form.

Do you like fish?

Magst du. The du form is magst. Möchtest du Fisch? would mean “would you like some fish now?” — an offer.

I’d like to pay. (asking for the bill)

möchte zahlen. möchten can take a second verb, and that verb stays in the infinitive — no zu.

Would you like something to drink? (a polite offer)

Möchten Sie. The standard pattern for offers and hospitality. Mögen Sie… asks about taste. With Sie the verb ends in -en; möchtest is only for du.

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Worksheet

mögen pocket card

This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.

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Dativ verbs

helfen · gefallen · gehören · geben

Dativ verbs are German verbs whose object goes in the dative case: helfen, gefallen, gehören, geben.

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Verbs