Voulez-vous translates to “would you like? or “do you want?” These words are heard endlessly in the songs such as Voulez-Vous by Abba and Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir). But, what exactly is it and how is it formed? Voulez-vous in the inversion of the words vous voulez, which mean “you want” in formal language.
Vous translates to either you formal or you plural (y’all or you guys). Voulez means want and is the second-person plural (y’all) form of the verb vouloir (to want). Interested in French expressions? This page offers the top 25 most useful French expressions you can use to speak fluently!
Video source: Everything About French
Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? is the line heard in the song Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera in the movie Moulin Rouge.
We just learned voulez-vous. This means do you want, or literally “want you?” It would also be written, “Est-ce que vous voulez?”, which also also means do you want?
Coucher means to sleep or go to bed and avec moi means with me. So, Voulez-vous coucher avec moi means do you want to sleep or go to bed with me.
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Voulez-vous usages in French
Voulez-vous doesn’t just appear in the titles and lyrics of these songs, but is very commonly used in French. Voulez-vous can either be followed by an infinitive (to form of the verb, e.g. to eat) or by a thing or object.
Voulez-vous can also be written are a) Est-ce que vous voulez (mentioned above) and b) Veux-tu? or Est-ce que que tu veux? This is the familiar -tu- form.
Examples:
- Voulez-vous partir demain? Would you want to leave tomorrow?
- Voulez-vous de la glace? Would you like some ice cream?
- Voulez-vous un cafe? Would you like a coffee?
When not inverted you may see the following:
- Qu’est-ce que vous voulez manger? What do you want?
- Où est-ce que vous voulez aller? Where do you want to go?
Now let’s listen to the song!
More resources:
If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
