gern
German, adverb/ɡɛrn/
gern is spelled G-E-R-N (4 letters) and appears 141 times per million words in written German, the 622nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Gern is a German adverb meaning “willingly; gladly; with pleasure; usually expressed verbally in English, with like, enjoy etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “mit Freude”.
What does gern mean in English?
adverb
- 1
willingly; gladly; with pleasure; usually expressed verbally in English, with like, enjoy etc.
Markus fährt gern Fahrrad.
- 2
much; a lot
Dieses Lied mag ich gern.
- 3
informaleasily; often
Mir wird gern mal schlecht im Auto.
- 4
Used to indicate a preference.
Ich schlafe gern in meinem eigenen Bett.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. mit Freude 2. häufig; leicht, schnell 3. mögen 4. möglichst (wenn es keine großen Umstände macht)
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of gern
- lieber comparative
- am liebsten superlative
- gerne alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce gern?
- /ɡɛrn/
- [ɡɛʁn]
- [ɡɛɐ̯n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to gern
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is gern in German?
gern appears 141 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).