Learn Dutch: Ik drink liever koffie. - I prefer to drink coffee.

In Dutch, "preferring" an action is usually expressed with the adverb liever (meaning "rather") added to an action verb, instead of using a specific verb like the English "to prefer". So, Ik drink liever literally translates to "I drink rather," which means "I prefer to drink."

Is liever related to the word graag?

Yes! You use graag to say you like doing something (Ik drink graag koffie = I like drinking coffee). Liever is the comparative form of graag. So if you want to step it up from "liking" to "preferring," you simply swap graag for liever.

Why is liever placed before koffie?

In a simple Dutch sentence, the conjugated verb (drink) must be in the second position. Short adverbs like liever typically drop in right after the verb and before the direct object (koffie).

If someone asked a "which" question to get this answer, would they use welke or welk?