In this lesson you are going to learn several ways to say “I prefer” in Luxembourgish and how to talk about preferences. Many students have asked me to do a lesson about this subject as they are struggling when trying to talk about their preferences in Luxembourgish. Here you go!
léiwer – léiwer wéi – am léifsten
Luxembourgers indicate that they prefer (doing) one thing over another by using the expression léiwer. Léiwer is an adverb and thus can only be used in tandem with a verb:
verb + léiwer (I prefer to )
Léiwer is the comparative form of gär.
Beispiller (examples)
Ech drénke gär Kaffi, awer ech drénke léiwer Téi.
I like to drink coffee but I prefer to drink tea.
Fiers du gär mam Auto? Jo, awer ech gi léiwer zu Fouss.
Do you like to drive? Yes, but I prefer walking.
Wëlls du léiwer eng Zalot oder eng Zopp iessen?
Do you prefer to eat a salad or a soup?
If however you compare two terms or items, you must as well insert the conjunction
wéi (ewéi)
Beispiller (examples)
Ech schwätze léiwer Franséisch wéi Däitsch. – I prefer to speak French over German.
Ech spille léiwer Tennis wéi Squash. – I prefer to play tennis over Squash.
Maï Bouf ësst léiwer Nuddelen wéi Gromperen. – My son prefers to eat noodles over potatoes.
If the comparison is between three or more terms or items, then you use the expression am léifsten
Beispiller (examples)
Ech kann Lëtzebuergesch, Englisch und Franséisch, awer am léifste schwätzen ech Lëtzebuergesch.
I know Luxembourgish, English and French, but I prefer to speak Luxembourgish the most.
Also, ech iessen am léifste schwaarze Schockela. – I prefer to eat dark chocolate.
If you want to state that something is your favourite item or favourite person above all, then you can use the word
Liiblings – + item.
Beispiller (examples)
Mäi Liiblingsbuch ass …. – My favorite book is…
Meng Liiblingstaart ass… – My favorite tart is…
Mäi Liiblingsschrëftsteller ass… – My favourite author is …
You can watch this lesson on youtube!
I hope that this lesson was helpful. If you want to learn Luxembourgish from scratch but you don’t have time to attend classes then my online course Easy Luxembourgish Level 1 is for you!
