If German words had a popularity contest, Liebling would be wearing a glittery crown and handing out hugs. Itâs cute, itâs cosy, and it means âdarlingâ or âfavouriteâ.
Mein Liebling! – My darling! My favourite!
But Liebling doesnât like to stay single for long. It loves making compound words! Whether youâre talking about your Lieblingslied (favourite song), your Lieblingsmensch (favourite person), or even your Lieblingskuscheldecke (favourite snuggly blanket â yes, thatâs a thing), Liebling is everywhere. In this post, weâll explore just how many delightful combinations this little word can create. Get ready for a linguistic cuddle-fest!
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And for once I am not writing der, die or das in front of the nouns, but mein (for masculine & neuter nouns) or meine (for feminine nouns). Why? Because that’s what you would say when you talk about your favourite thing. “Das ist mein/ meine Lieblings- … – That’s my favourite …”
- mein Lieblingsessen – your absolute favourite food (yes, even if itâs just chips and chocolate)
- mein Lieblingslied – the song you canât help singing in the shower
- mein Lieblingsbuch – the book youâve read five times and still love
- mein Lieblingsfilm – your go-to film for rainy days and popcorn nights
- mein Lieblingsort – your happy place, whether itâs the beach, your sofa, or a cafĂ© in Berlin
- meine Lieblingskleidung – those jeans or that hoodie you wear way too often
- mein Lieblingsmensch – your favourite human (no explanation needed, they just are)
- mein Lieblingskuscheltier – your beloved childhood cuddly toy (still secretly on your bed?)
- mein Lieblingsfarbe – your favourite colour – because who doesnât have one?
- mein Lieblingstag – the best day of the week (hint: possibly not Monday)
- meine Lieblingsarbeit – you do have some work that’s your favourite, right?
- meine LieblingsbeschĂ€ftigung – your favourite pasttime/ hobby
- mein Lieblingssohn/ meine Lieblingstochter – I only have one son and one daughter, so I can safely talk about my favourite son or daughter đ
- mein LieblingsgetrĂ€nk – that could be tea, coffee, wine or beer, or even water
And the list could go on an on. Whether you have a favourite car (Lieblingsauto) or number (Lieblingszahl), a favourite toy (Lieblingsspielzeug) or football/ soccer team (LieblingsfuĂballmannschaft), all you need is the word ‘Lieblings’ (the ‘s’ is needed to ensure the new compound noun is pronounced as one word) to which you add whatever noun you need to describe your favourite. Of course, you do need to know what gender that noun has. If you need some reminders about when to use der, die or das, check out my online course German gender #1 – German nouns and der, die & das (use the code BLOGPOST to get 10% off)
If you have read similar blog posts of mine you might remember that I also post lists of words where the end part is the same. This time it’s a very short list as I could only find two:
- der Leinwandliebling – screen favourite
- der Publikumsliebling – darling/ idol of the public
There are, however, countless compound nouns beginning with ‘Lieblings’.
How many can you think of?
And what’s your favourite ‘Lieblings’ word? đ
What can you do with these âLieblingsâ words to remember them?
You can bookmark this post or make a vocabulary list with them. You can do that with any paper or electronic notebook. Or you could buy my notebook which I designed specially for German vocab learners. It has space for vocabulary lists and sentences, perfect for writing about your favourite things. You can even choose one of two colour đ
