Pattern
Aș dori + noun/infinitive = "I would like ___" (very polite, slightly more formal than aș vrea).
Explanation
Aș dori is the conditional of a dori (to wish, to desire). It's the most polite way to make a request in Romanian — common in restaurants, shops, hotels, official settings. Aș dori o cafea, vă rog (I would like a coffee, please) is more refined than Aș vrea o cafea (which is itself polite).
Both aș dori and aș vrea work in the same slot grammatically. The difference is register: aș vrea is everyday polite (cafés, casual restaurants); aș dori is formal polite (fine restaurants, hotels, official phone calls). When in doubt about formality, aș dori is always safe.
Like aș vrea, it pairs with nouns (aș dori o supă) or with să + verb (aș dori să rezerv o masă — I would like to reserve a table). For now, treat aș dori as a fixed polite formula and build sentences around it.
Examples
| Romanian | English |
|---|---|
| Aș dori o cafea, vă rog. | I would like a coffee, please. |
| Aș dori să rezerv o masă pentru două persoane. | I would like to reserve a table for two. |
| Aș dori informații despre acest produs. | I'd like information about this product. |
| Aș dori să plătesc, vă rog. | I'd like to pay, please. |
| Aș dori o cameră dublă pentru două nopți. | I'd like a double room for two nights. |
Common mistakes
- Using "aș dori" with friends: Overly formal — among friends, vreau or aș vrea is fine.
- Saying just "dori": The conditional needs aș; Dori o cafea is wrong.
- Forgetting "vă rog": Adding vă rog completes the polite tone.