# Я бы хотел



## PatrickK1

1) In English, when requesting something politely, we sometimes say "I would like [+noun]." Would Russians say, "Я бы хотел 2 билета, пожалуйста," and if so, how would that compare with "Дайте, пожалуйста, 2 билета."

2) Is there any difference or preferred word order for "я бы хотел" and "я хотел бы"?

3) In English, we usually say "I'd like to [do something]" even though the literal meaning is just "I want to [do something]," expressing a general desire or wish.  Does the Russian, "Я бы хотел [делать что-нибудь]" work the same way? For instance, if you want to say "I want to go to Russia", would it be perfectly natural to say "Я бы хотел поехать в Россию."?

Thanks


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## Garbuz

PatrickK1 said:


> 1) In English, when requesting something politely, we sometimes say "I would like [+noun]." Would Russians say, "Я бы хотел 2 билета, пожалуйста," and if so, how would that compare with "Дайте, пожалуйста, 2 билета."
> 
> 2) Is there any difference or preferred word order for "я бы хотел" and "я хотел бы"?
> 
> 3) In English, we usually say "I'd like to [do something]" even though the literal meaning is just "I want to [do something]."  Does the Russian, "Я бы хотел [делать что-нибудь]" work the same way? For instance, if you want to say "I want to go to Russia", would it be perfectly natural to say "Я бы хотел поехать в Россию."?
> 
> Thanks



Hi Patrick,


1) No, I wouldn't say "Я бы хотел два билета, пожалуйста". Sounds odd. I'd say "Два билета, пожалуйста" or "Дайте два билета, пожалуйста".

2) To me both sound natural. I don't feel any difference.
Unless you want to contrast the doers: "Он хочет поехать в Россию, а я бы хотел поехать в Ирландию". 

3) You mean if there is any implied condition?
No, I don't think so.
Я бы хотел поехать в Россию. = Я хочу поехать в Россию. 
The latter sounds like the person is more determined.


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## Q-cumber

PatrickK1 said:


> 1 For instance, if you want to say "I want to go to Russia", would it be perfectly natural to say "Я бы хотел поехать в Россию."?
> Thanks



The latter variant would rather mean "I wish I could go to Russia".  It wants for some "but...", if you know what I mean.

_ Я бы хотел поехать в Россию, но пока не могу себе этого позволить._


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## PatrickK1

Ah, Q-cumber, that's what I was getting at!

In English the clause could have both meanings. If you just said "I would like to go to Russia", it would usually be equivalent to "I want to go to Russia" (ie. it's a goal, a plan, a desire), although you could also say "I would like to go to Russia, but [some condition has not yet been met]."

In Russian it would always mean that some condition has not been met, or can it have both meanings depending on context?


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## Garbuz

Q-cumber said:


> The latter variant would rather mean "I wish I could go to Russia".  It wants for some "but...", if you know what I mean.
> 
> _ Я бы хотел поехать в Россию, но пока не могу себе этого позволить._



Yes, you must be right. Actually both are possible.
1. 
- Вот две путевки на выбор, одна в Россию, другая в Ирландию. Куда вы хотите поехать?
- Я бы хотел поехать в Россию. 

No implied condition, just a polite construction.

2. -Вот две путевки на выбор, одна в Россию - 1000 $, другая в Ирландию - 3000 $. Куда вы хотите поехать?
- Я бы хотел поехать в Ирландию, но для меня это слишком дорого, поэтому возьму путевку в Россию. 

The sentence contains implied condition.


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## PatrickK1

Ah...thanks for that clarification, Garbuz. In English we've got an additional construction that expresses a general goal or desire...that's what I was referring to.

So, if you want to say that you have a desire to go to Russia, would it be best to just say it in a straightforward manner, "Я хочу поехать в Россию."?


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## Garbuz

PatrickK1 said:


> Ah...thanks for that clarification, Garbuz. In English we've got an additional construction that expresses a general goal or desire...that's what I was referring to.
> 
> So, if you want to say that you have a desire to go to Russia, would it be best to just say it in a straightforward manner, "Я хочу поехать в Россию."?



That's right.

BTW, what's this construction that expresses a general goal or desire?


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## PatrickK1

Garbuz said:


> That's right.
> 
> BTW, what's this construction that expresses a general goal or desire?



Instead of expressing a goal or desire with "I want to", you can substitute it with "I would like to..." and it has the same meaning. Some examples:

"I'd like to travel."
"I'd like to go to France once day."
"I'd like to read a Shakespeare play." 
(In these examples, you haven't done these things yet and you are saying that you hope to do them in your lifetime.)

You can also use it for more specific events:
"I'd like to go to the movies tonight."
"I'd like to go to McDonald's for lunch."
"I'd like to go to the theater after dinner."

"I want to" would be perfectly synonymous, and it's probably more common, but "I would like to" is a bit more polite.


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## Garbuz

Thank you.

It's just crossed my mind. About "Я хотел бы" with implied condition.

Я хотел бы поехать в Ирландию, но это для меня слишком дорого.

The implied condition is 'если бы мог себе это позволить'. But if you substitute it into the sentence, you'll have to remove the verb 'хотел', otherwise the sentence wouldn't be grammatical.

Я бы поехал в Ирландию, если бы мог себе это позволить.

There must be some interesting explanation for it. But nothing occurs to me now. Perhaps somebody else will throw some light on the matter.


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## Sobakus

Я хотел бы поехать в Ирландию and Я бы поехал в Ирландию are not the same thing. The first expresses your wish and translates as "I'd like to go to Ireland", and the second expresses your regret about your not visiting Ireland(or being unable to do so at the moment) and/or further explains why you didn't(don't), it translates as "I would have gone to Ireland/I'd go to Ireland", as I understand it.


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## Garbuz

I think it's not the wish but the action of going itself that the implied condition has as consequence. Then why is it possible to say 'Я бы хотел поехать в Ирландию', но у меня не хватит денег? What is 'но у меня не хватит денег' but implied condition? But why doesn't it fit the sentence if we turn it into an if-clause 'если бы у меня были деньги'? We can normally do it with other sentences built up on that pattern.

Я бы приготовил обед, но у меня нет овощей. = Я бы приготовил обед, если бы у меня были овощи.
Я бы остался еще на неделю, но мне надо домой. = Я бы остался еще на неделю, если бы мне не нужно было домой.

But not with the sentence in question.
Я бы хотел поехать в Ирландию, но у меня не хватит денег. = ??? Я бы хотел поехать в Ирландию, если бы у меня было достаточно денег. It irritates my ear. I'm sure it's not good.

That's what I'm trying to work out.


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## tregina12000

PatrickK1 said:


> Instead of expressing a goal or desire with "I want to", you can substitute it with "I would like to..." and it has the same meaning. Some examples:
> 
> "I'd like to travel."
> "I'd like to go to France once day."
> "I'd like to read a Shakespeare play."
> (In these examples, you haven't done these things yet and you are saying that you hope to do them in your lifetime.)
> 
> You can also use it for more specific events:
> "I'd like to go to the movies tonight."
> "I'd like to go to McDonald's for lunch."
> "I'd like to go to the theater after dinner."
> 
> "I want to" would be perfectly synonymous, and it's probably more common, but "I would like to" is a bit more polite.


 

Sometimes adding an adverb, such as really, sure or certainly, can add the implication of condition as well.  As can using "wish" instead of "want" or "like."

"I'd really like to go, but..."
"I'd sure like to travel, but..."
"I certainly wish I could, but..."

Using "I would like to..." is not only more formal and polite, to me it sometimes has a slightly negative connotation, as if one is saying they would like to but meaning that they really would not like to!


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## Q-cumber

tregina12000 said:


> Using "I would like to..." is not only more formal and polite, to me it sometimes has a slightly negative connotation, as if one is saying they would like to but meaning that they really would not like to!



There's actually no need to use special constructions to speak polite Russian. Just include standard "magic words" into phrases, such as "спасибо", "пожалуйста", "простите"  and so on.


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## Awwal12

> There's actually no need to use special constructions to speak polite Russian. Just include standard "magic words" into phrases, such as "спасибо", "пожалуйста", "простите" and so on.


You forgot to mention the addressing in plural (на "вы").  But I agree with you.


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## Q-cumber

Awwal12 said:


> You forgot to mention the addressing in plural (на "вы").  But I agree with you.



It depends...politeness and formality aren't the same thing.


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## tregina12000

Could stiff formality give the impression of being impolite then, as if one were talking down to another?


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## Awwal12

> Could stiff formality give the impression of being impolite then, as if one were talking down to another?


Well, it could do only in groups where low or moderate formality is a rule (between students or other youth, for example). Otherwise there should be nothing wrong with a high formality (especially when you aren't familiar with a person you are talking to).


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