encantaría

Encantaría is the conditional form of the Spanish verb encantar, meaning to delight or to love something in a strong, positive sense. In usage, encantar is part of a gustar-like construction that typically takes an indirect object pronoun to indicate who experiences the delight, while the thing that delights acts as the subject of the sentence.

The main constructions with encantar in the conditional are me encantaría, te encantaría, le encantaría, nos encantaría, os encantaría, and les encantaría. It is common to follow this with an infinitive, as in me encantaría aprender español (I would love to learn Spanish). It can also take a subordinate clause introduced by que, with the verb in the subjunctive: me encantaría que vinieras (I would love for you to come). The impersonal form encantaría can be used without an explicit subject: encantaría saber la verdad (it would be delightful to know the truth).

Usage notes: encantaría expresses a polite, hypothetical wish or invitation and is stronger than sería/gustaría but less direct than decir quiero or me gustaría directly requesting something. Like other gustar-type verbs, the person who experiences the delight is expressed with an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les), while the thing or event that delights may be presented as the subject of the clause.

Etymology: encantar derives from Latin incantare (to enchant), with en- as a prefix enhancing the sense, originally meaning to enchant or to delight.

See also: gustar; querer; subjunctive mood with que clauses.