Below, the linguistic experts at the language learning platform Babbel share their insights on how to express love across the world.
How to Say “I Love You” in 25 Different Languages
Spanish
Like many languages, Spanish uses a number of words to express love. If you were expressing platonic or humorous affection, you might say te quiero (teh kyeh-roh), or alternatively, you could use a conjugation of encantar (en-can-tar) to express love for objects and activities. For a more serious or profound expression of romantic love, you would use the phrase te amo (teh am-oh).
German
In Germany, people tend to be slightly less forthcoming about expressing love when compared to many other cultures, so the literal translation of “I love you,” - Ich liebe dich (ich lee-buh dich) —can come across as overly formal. Alternatively, ich hab dich gern (ich hab dich g-ehr-n) is the more relaxed way to say the phrase, and can be used in many contexts, like when referring to objects, friends, family, or romantic partners.
Swedish
Swedish has a very direct translation for “I love you,” which is jag älskar dig (yah EHL-skah day), although the noun form of love, kärlek, is separate from the verb form, älska. The Norwegian terms used to express love are similar: kjærlighet means “love,” with the phrase jeg elsker deg meaning “I love you.”
Danish
The Danish way of saying “I love you,” jeg elsker dig, is similar to Swedish. The Danish noun for “love,” in the most general sense, is kærlighed, which is also similar to Norwegian. More broadly, the Danish term forelskelse refers to romantic or passionate love, and in most cases be used with significant others, rather than family or friends.
Finnish
In Finnish, you would write “I love you” as minä rakastan sinua, although in speech this is often shortened to mä rakastan sua. The word for love is rakkaus (rak-aus), although in Finnish culture it is common to be slightly less forthcoming with expressing emotions, as Fins are famous for their avoidance of unnecessary conversation.
French
The main way to say “I love you” in French is je t’aime, and is reserved for partners or close family. A slightly more detached way to express love is je vous aime, which utilizes the more formal vous, which makes the phrase slightly less familiar.
Dutch
In Dutch, there are a couple of ways to say “I love you.” If you are emphasizing the person you are talking to (I love you) then you would use ik hou van jou. However if you are choosing to put the emphasis on the emotion, you might opt for ik hou van je (I love you). The noun form of love, liefde, is also completely different to the verb form of “love,” and is generally used to describe the concept of romantic love, rather than the act of expressing love.
Polish
If you were expressing love in Polish, the usual noun form would be miłość. However, the more common phrase that translates to “I love you,” is kocham Cię (koh-ham cheh). For a term of endearment, you could call your significant other kochanie, which means “darling” or “my love.”
Indonesian
In Indonesia, the word for love is cinta, and the way to tell someone you love them is aku cinta kamu (ah-koo chin-ta ka-moo). Another common expression for love is sayang, which affectionately means “darling” or “dear.”
Portuguese
Similar to Spanish, the basic Portuguese way to say “I love you” is te amo, though the pronunciation in Portuguese can be slightly different, and is most commonly used in Brazilian Portuguese, while in European Portuguese it is often said amo-te. In Brazil, you could alternatively opt for eu amo você (eh-ooh am-oh voh-seh), which conveys a very similar sentiment to the above.
Russian
The Russian way to say “I love you” is я тебя люблю (ya tebya lyublyu). Interestingly, the noun for love, любовь (lyubov) is similar to some other Eastern European languages with Slavic roots. Russians also use a different word, Влюблённость (vlyuv-LYON-nast), to describe the state of being in love.
Italian
If you want to say “I love you” in a passionate, romantic, context, you would use the Italian phrase ti amo (tee am-oh), which is reserved for significant others. While expressing love (amore) in a broader sense to friends or family, you would say ti voglio bene, which describes affection without romance.
Turkish
In Turkish, there are two nouns for love, the first being aşk (ash-k) to describe romantic love, while sevgi (s-eh-v-gee) is more descriptive of a love you’d feel for family or friends. It is the second form of love that is the basis for the phrase “I love you,” which in Turkish is seni seviyorum, which has quite the poetic ring to it.
Tagalog
In Tagalog, the language of the Philippines, mahal kita (mah-hal kee-tah) is a fairly comprehensive way of verbalizing love that can be used for friends, family or partners. Interestingly, the word for love (mahal) also means “expensive” when used as a noun.
Japanese
In Japan, different expressions of love convey different levels of sentiment, with the most intense way of saying “I love you” being 愛してる (ai shiteru), although using this phrase implies serious commitment. 愛してますよ (ai shitemasu yo) is slightly less intense, but should still be reserved for occasions when you are really looking to make an impact. 大好きだよ (daisuki da yo),is the more casual way to say “I love you” or “I really like you,” and can be used amongst friends or when describing objects, like your favorite food.
Romanian
In Romanian, the phrase te iubesc, taken from the old Slavic word ljubiti, is the most common phrase used to express love. Alternatively, the term te ador, which is derived from Latin roots, is the more heavily romantic way to express love.
Greek
In Greece, se agapo (Σ΄αγαπώ) is a way to tell someone you love them, typically in an unconditional sense. A more friendly way to communicate love is with the word filia (φιλία) which would literally translate to “brotherly love.”
Chinese - Mandarin
While it might be normal in the U.S. to express love in a friendly way to your friends, or as a regular greeting to your partner, in China, for example, the norm is to be more sparing with expressions of love. Talking about love can be viewed as shallow or improper, particularly amongst older generations. However, now younger generations are starting to freely use the phrase 我爱你 (wo ai ni), meaning “I love you,” while older generations still tend to adopt the less emphatic 我爱你 (xihuan ni), meaning “I like you.”
Bulgarian
In Bulgarian, the word for love is Любов (lyu-bove). Saying “I love you,” in Bulgarian carries stronger significance, and is communicated with the phrase Обичам те (obicham te). Mоя любов (moya lyubov) is another way to express love in Bulgarian, and translates to “my love.”
Hindi
There are lots of different ways to express love in Hindi. The simplest “I love you” is main tumse pyar kartha hoon. In Hindi, men and women say “I love you” with a slight difference because the language is gendered, including verbs. Most masculine verbs in Hindi end with “a,” while most feminine verbs end with “ee.” If you’re male, you’ll use the masculine verb kartha, and if you are female, you’ll use the feminine verb karthee to say “I love you.”
Korean
There are several different ways to convey love in Korean, however, they vary by context, with factors spanning age, relationship, familiarity, and social status, amongst others. The most casual way to say “I love you” in Korean is 사랑해 (sarang-hae), and it’s common to use this phrase with those you’re close within age, or in friendship. The most formal version of “I love you,” used when addressing someone of a higher social status and age, is 사랑합니다 (sarang-hamnida).
Welsh
Rwy’n dy garu di (roo-in duh gari dee) is the informal version of “I love you” that would be used in spoken conversation, while dw i’n dy garu di (doo-in duh gari dee) is the more formal phrase that you’d likely use in writing.
Irish
The Irish word for love is grá and while there are a number of different ways to formulate the sentence “I love you,” with one of the most common phrases being tá mé i ngrá leat (taw may ih ngraw lyat). This literally translates to “I’m in love with you,” though there are many romantic Irish phrases you could opt for, including: is tú mo chuisle (is too moh coosh-lah), which means “You are my pulse.”
Hungarian
Hungarians have a short and sweet, one-word expression to say “I love you” - szeretlek (seh-ret-lek). Szerelem (seh-reh-lem) is the noun for love that can be used to say “my love” or similar phrases.
Hawaiian
The most common way to say “I love you” in Hawaiian is aloha au iā ‘oe (ah-LO-hah hah-oh ow ee-ah oy). Unusually, in Hawaiian the word aloha (ah-LO-hah) is often used as a catch-all term, with wider meanings being used to say hello, goodbye, and wish you well, among others. The word has some similarities with other Polynesian languages, including Samoan, where talofa (tah-luh-fuh) is the prevalent greeting, and they communicate love through the term “alofa” (ah-luh-fuh). Check out…Romantic Love QuotesRomantic Messages for Him & HerLove PoemsCute Things to Say to Your GirlfriendRomantic Things to Say
