Gern vs. GerneWhat's the difference?

What's the difference between "gern" and "gerne" in German? Or can the two words be used interchangeably?

25.04.2023

As a German learner, you may have encountered the words gern and gerne and wondered what the difference is between them.

While there often are slight differences between words like these in German, the short answer here is that gern & gerne actually can be swapped out for one another.

Examples with Gern

Ich spiele gern Fußball.
I like playing soccer.
Wir sehen gern Filme.
We like watching movies.
Er isst gern Pizza.
He likes eating pizza.

Examples with Gerne

Ich spiele gerne Fußball.
I like playing soccer.
Möchtest du gerne Eis essen?
Would you like to eat ice cream?
Ich nehme das Angebot gerne an.
I gladly accept the offer.

Dialogue

Let's take a look at a dialogue between two friends, Anna and Lisa, to illustrate how gern and gerne can be used:

👩🏽Anna
Ich würde heute gerne ins Kino gehen. Hast du Lust?
👩🏻‍🦱Lisa
Ja, gerne! Welchen Film möchtest du sehen?
👩🏽Anna
Ich würde gerne den neuen Actionfilm sehen. Um 20 Uhr läuft er im Kino.
👩🏻‍🦱Lisa
Das hört sich gut an. Wir sollten früh genug da sein, um gute Plätze zu bekommen.

In the dialogue, Anna uses gerne to express her liking for going to the movies, while she uses gerne to indicate that she would like to see the new action movie. Lisa uses gerne to accept Anna's invitation to the movies.

...and in all three cases, the word gern would work just the same:

👩🏽Anna
Ich würde heute gern ins Kino gehen. Hast du Lust?
👩🏻‍🦱Lisa
Ja, gern! Welchen Film möchtest du sehen?
👩🏽Anna
Ich würde gern den neuen Actionfilm sehen. Um 20 Uhr läuft er im Kino.
👩🏻‍🦱Lisa
Das hört sich gut an. Wir sollten früh genug da sein, um gute Plätze zu bekommen.

Conclusion

In summary, both gern and gerne mean "like" or "enjoy" in English. Gern & gerne are often used in conjunction with verbs to express that you like doing something.

The two words can be swapped out for one another, so just go ahead and don't worry whether you've picked the wrong one - there is not right choice here.

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