Learn German: Ich spiele gern.

In German, to say you like doing an activity, you don't usually use a verb like "to like" (mögen). Instead, you use the word gern (gladly) right after the action verb. So, Ich spiele gern translates literally as "I play gladly."

Why does the verb end in "-e" (spiele)?

The base form of the verb is spielen (to play). For regular verbs, when the subject is ich (I), you remove the -en ending and add -e. That gives us spiele.

Could I say "Ich mag spielen" instead?

While it makes literal sense to English speakers, Germans rarely use mögen (to like) with other verbs. Mögen is mostly used for liking things or people (like Ich mag Pizza). For liking actions, always use the action verb plus gern.

Could I change the word order to "Gern ich spiele"?

No, because of the "V2 rule" in German. In a standard statement, the verb (spiele) must always be the second idea in the sentence. If you start with Gern, the verb must come next: Gern spiele ich.