Word · CEFR A2 · Frequency #1386
prefer
更喜欢；宁愿
to like or choose one thing over another
- 1.
To be in the habit of choosing something rather than something else; to favor; to like better.
习惯于选择某事物而非其他；偏爱；更喜欢。
- 2.
To present or submit (something) to an authority (now usually in "to prefer charges").
向当局提交或呈递(某事)(现常用于“提出指控”)。
提出（控告）；习惯于选择某事物而非其他；偏爱；更喜欢。；向当局提交或呈递(某事)(现常用于“提出指控”)。；宁可；较喜欢
In use
I prefer tea to coffee in the morning.
She prefers to walk rather than take the bus.
They preferred staying at home during the holidays.
prefer + noun/pronoun
I prefer coffee.
我更喜欢咖啡。
prefer + to-infinitive
She prefers to walk to work.
她更喜欢走路去上班。
prefer + noun/gerund + to + noun/gerund
此结构用于比较两个事物。
He prefers reading to watching TV.
他更喜欢读书而不是看电视。
Connections
Collocations
- prefer to do
- 更喜欢做
- I prefer to walk to work.我更喜欢步行上班。
- prefer A to B
- 比起B更喜欢A
- She prefers tea to coffee.比起咖啡，她更喜欢茶。
- prefer over
- 优于；更喜欢
- Many people prefer online shopping over in-store.许多人更喜欢网购而非实体店购物。
- strongly prefer
- 强烈偏好
- He strongly prefers working from home.他强烈偏好在家工作。
- would prefer
- 更愿意；更喜欢
- I would prefer not to discuss it.我更愿意不讨论这件事。
- prefer that
- 希望；宁愿
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想：pre（前）+ fer（带），把喜欢的放在前面，表示更喜欢。
Context & Register
Prefer 在表达‘更喜欢’时，通常用于日常生活和一般书面语，语体中性，不特属正式或非正式场合。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words in -fer (refer, infer, defer, transfer) rhyme with prefer, sharing the same stressed vowel and final consonant. Words like better and teacher also end with -er but have different vowel sounds and stress patterns; they are useful as spelling lookalikes but not rhymes.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 4，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.