When we learn a foreign language, our brains kind of automatically translate everything literally. Sometimes that works perfectly, especially if the languages are closely related to each other. But even in really similar languages there are plenty of “false friends”. Most of the time, however, translating literally can result in anything from mildly weird wording to a total disaster.
The English verb “to like” falls somewhere in between. If you look up this word in an English-German dictionary you will find the German verb “mögen” as the first option of translation. And it’s not wrong. Mögen means “to like”. As in “I like you” → ich mag dich.
It works with a direct object, which can be a pronoun or a noun.
→ ich mag die deutsche Sprache (I like the German language)
→ Magst du Kartoffeln? (Do you like potatoes?)
→ Wir mögen keine Horrorfilme (We don’t like horror movies)
But please, please, please do not use it in combination with another verb.
→ I like cooking ≠ Ich mag kochen
→ He likes reading ≠ Er mag lesen
→ They like travelling ≠ Sie mögen reisen
“Gern” – The adverb that you will LIKE most
Instead, we have a beautiful, short and easy-to-pronounce adverb to express all these things without any grammatical hassle: gern
The correct way of expressing the above-mentioned examples is:
→ Ich koche gern
→ Er liest gern
→ Sie reisen gern
To understand the concept better, think of “gern” as an adverb translated as “with pleasure”. So instead of saying that you like cooking you say that you cook with pleasure.
Mögen is often used as “want”
While the dictionary is not wrong about “mögen” meaning “to like”, at least when followed by nouns or pronouns, “mögen” often also tends to go in the direction of “want”, especially in questions.
- Magst du etwas essen? → Do you want to eat something?
- Ich mag nicht mehr arbeiten. → I don’t want to work any more
Gern haben – Really liking someone
Gern is also part of some common expressions that are always somewhat positive. For example, there is the expression “gern haben”, which again kind of translates to “like”, but with more untranslatable meaning.
When you tell someone “Ich hab dich gern” this translates as “I like you”, but it carries a lot more warmth than “ich mag dich”, which can sound more factual and somehow kind of makes you expect an “aber” (but) to follow it.
Lieb haben – More than liking someone
Not grammatically, but meaning-wise, there is a comparative form of gern haben. Of course, verbs do not actually have comparatives, but from the meaning there is really no other way to express it here.
If you really really like someone, you don’t say “Ich hab dich gern”, but “Ich hab dich lieb”. Depending on the context this can be translated as “I love you”, but not in a romantic way. Ich hab dich lieb is the kind of “I love you” that a parent says to a child or two close friends say to each other.
To be fair, English is very simplistic here, a one-phrase-fits-all sort of thing. German is a lot more distinctive here, which means you need to be more careful about which phrase to use with whom. Got a German girlfriend or boyfriend and telling them “Ich hab dich lieb”? Uh-oh. Sounds like you’re not that into them.
Oh and if you like this post, I will answer you “gern geschehen”, literally “done with pleasure” and commonly translated as “you’re welcome” (p.s. please don’t translate the latter literally)
