GermanDict
Sign Up Sign In

gern

adv · /ɡɛrn/ ·
Etymology

From Middle High German gërne, from Old High German gërno, from Proto-West Germanic *gernō, from Proto-Germanic *gernô (“willingly, gladly”), an adverbial form of *gernaz (“eager, willing”). Akin to German Low German geren (Paderbornisch), Dutch gaarne, English yern, Swedish gärna, Danish gerne.

Translation

  1. willingly; gladly; with pleasure; usually expressed verbally in English, with like, enjoy etc.

    Markus fährt gern Fahrrad.

    Markus enjoys biking.

  2. much; a lot

    Dieses Lied mag ich gern.

    I like this song a lot.

  3. easily; often informal

    Mir wird gern mal schlecht im Auto.

    I easily feel sick in the car.

  4. Used to indicate a preference.

    Ich schlafe gern in meinem eigenen Bett.

    I prefer sleeping in my own bed.