I chose “veux” in the first question { Je veux du silence} which was incorrect. Wouldn’t this choice depend on who I was speaking to? ie. My kids?!

Question

Accepted Answer

Hi Sheila,
'Je veux' is considered rude in French and you would have to be pretty angry to tell you children or pupils ( if you are a teacher) that.
If I ever said this as a child, my mother used to retort -
"Le roi dit, nous voulons!"
meaning even the king doesn't use 'Je veux' so who do you think you are!
So that's probably why 'je voudrais' is the accepted answer.
Hope this helps!

Answer

So, “Je veux” is REALLY RUDE ?!!  I am unclear when it would ever be appropriate, if even a king doesn’t say it.  Thanks for your reply Cécile.

Answer

You can use ‘je veux’ safely when you are talking about something you want to do yourself, rather than addressing someone else to do something for you. It is also used in (very) familiar contexts, but with care !