Lesson 77: Expressing Preferences
Beyond saying what you like, you can say what you like more — your preferences. The key verb is לְהַעֲדִיף (lehaadif, “to prefer”).
Tea or coffee?
אַתָּה מַעֲדִיף תֵּה אוֹ קָפֶה?
ata ma’adif te o kafe?
Do you prefer tea or coffee?
אֲנִי מַעֲדִיף קָפֶה עַל פְּנֵי תֵּה.
ani ma’adif kafe al pnei te.
I prefer coffee over tea.
וּבָעֶרֶב?
u’va’erev?
And in the evening?
בָּעֶרֶב אֲנִי מַעֲדִיף מַשֶּׁהוּ קַל, כְּמוֹ תֵּה צְמָחִים.
ba’erev ani ma’adif mashehu kal, kmo te tsmachim.
In the evening I prefer something light, like herbal tea.
גַּם אֲנִי.
gam ani.
Me too.
Grammar: “to prefer X over Y”
לְהַעֲדִיף (lehaadif) works with both nouns and infinitives:
- אֲנִי מַעֲדִיף קָפֶה ani ma’adif kafe — “I prefer coffee”
- אֲנִי מַעֲדִיף לָלֶכֶת בָּרֶגֶל ani ma’adif lalechet beregel — “I prefer to walk”
To compare two options, use עַל פְּנֵי (al pnei, “over / rather than”): X עַל פְּנֵי Y — “X over Y”. And כְּמוֹ (kmo, “like / such as”) introduces an example.
Tip: The noun is הַעֲדָפָה (ha’adafa, “preference”): זֹאת רַק הַעֲדָפָה אִישִׁית — “it’s just a personal preference.”
Vocabulary
Preferring
| לְהַעֲדִיף | lehaadif | to prefer |
| עַל פְּנֵי | al pnei | over, rather than |
| הַעֲדָפָה | ha’adafa | preference |
Useful words
| כְּמוֹ | kmo | like, such as |
| תֵּה | te | tea |
| טַעַם | ta’am | taste, flavor |