Tech support: "I'd be glad to assist you." You would if what? So this is kind of a conditional tech support line here, but you won't tell me what that depends on? What's wrong with present tense? (Or, better, drop the fluff and give everybody their life back?)
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Doesn't German do that too? "Ich würde gern..." Similarly, "I want to help you" sounds weirdly aggressive compared to "I would like to help you"
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The German is just like the English: “ich würde gerne mal diesen Berg besteigen” — “I’d love to climb this mountain some day” — lots of assumptions implied, and it may never happen. I’d like tech support be a bit more certain that they want to help.
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But isn't it also the same as: "Ich würde gern Ihnen helfen" vs "Ich will dir helfen" Or does being so direct in German sound less abrasive than in English?
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“Ich helfe Ihnen gerne” or “ich kann Ihnen gerne helfen” is what I would expect. Although help is generally less generously offered :-) but that has less to do with grammar.
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Replying to @Johannes_Ernst
okay how about ordering at a coffee shop... I was always taught "Ich würde gern einen Kaffee" rather than "Ich möchte einen Kaffee". Same idea right?

Oct 26, 2021 · 4:28 PM UTC

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Replying to @aaronpk
Not “würde”. “Eine Tasse Kaffee, bitte” would be the default. Maybe “ich hätte gerne eine Tasse Kaffee” (Note the default unit for the item Kaffee are different, as is the expected container… well, depending on the establishment.)
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I just found this which seems like a reasonable explanation of the differences between the three. I'm excited that I get to practice this all in 2 weeks when I'm in Düsseldorf! german.stackexchange.com/que…

Difference between "Ich möchte" and "Ich hätte gern(e)" and "Ich würde gern(e)"

I don't like phrase books for their original purpose. I prefer to use them to find out different ways to to say the same thing and learn the differences. This brings us to these three... 1 ."Ich

german.stackexchange.com
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