English–German
“rather” in German
How to say “rather” in German
“Rather” in German is eher.
A scale tips toward one option or toward an earlier point in time.
Example sentences with eher
Wir sollten eher früher losfahren, um den Stau zu vermeiden.
We should preferably leave earlier to avoid the traffic jam.
Tips for using eher
- In eher nicht, eher usually means "rather not" or "probably not", so the phrase softens a negative answer without making it absolute.
Other German words for “rather”
Ich trinke lieber Tee als Kaffee.
I would rather drink tea than coffee.
Er ist nicht faul, vielmehr sehr fleißig.
He isn't lazy; rather, he's very hardworking.