French Phrase
Je veux assurer ce colis.
Meaning
Literally, ‘I want to insure this package.’ The speaker is expressing a desire to take out an insurance policy for a parcel that is about to be shipped or is already in transit.
When to use
Use this sentence when you are at a post office, a courier desk, or speaking with a shipping company and you need to add insurance to a parcel, especially if the contents are valuable or fragile.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Jeveuxassurercecolis
Subject pronoun (Je)
The first‑person singular pronoun used before a verb.
Verb vouloir (veux)
Present‑tense of vouloir, meaning ‘to want’. It is conjugated as je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut, etc.
Infinitive after vouloir (assurer)
When vouloir is followed by another verb, the second verb stays in the infinitive.
Demonstrative adjective (ce)
Ce means ‘this/that’ and agrees in gender with the noun that follows.
Masculine noun (colis)
Colis is a masculine singular noun meaning ‘package, parcel’.
🗨In Conversation
Je veux assurer ce colis.
I want to insure this package.
Très bien, je vais le faire tout de suite.
Very well, I’ll do it right away.
✕Common Mistakes
Je veux assurer le colis.
‘Le’ is the definite article; you need the demonstrative ‘ce’ to point to a specific package you are holding.
Je veux assurer que ce colis.
‘Assurer que’ means ‘to assure that’, not ‘to insure’. Use the infinitive ‘assurer’ after vouloir.
Je veux assurer ce colis.
When speaking politely, add ‘s’il vous plaît’ or use a softer verb like ‘souhaiter’. The bare form can sound abrupt.
↔Alternatives
Je souhaite assurer ce colis.
I would like to insure this package.
Je veux assurer ce paquet.
I want to insure this parcel.
Je désire assurer ce colis.
I desire to insure this package.
Cultural Tip
In France, adding insurance to a shipment is common for valuable items such as electronics, jewelry, or artwork. The verb assurer here means ‘to insure’, not ‘to assure’ (as in giving confidence). If you need to guarantee something, you would use garantir. When speaking to a clerk, a polite tone (e.g., ‘s’il vous plaît’) is appreciated, especially in formal settings like post offices.