Want to know how to say I love you in different languages from around the world? Here’s a list of the 50 most spoken languages and how to express your love in each of them, as well as some more info about romantic things you can call your loved one.
Saying I love you in different languages can be seen as very romantic as you’ve taken the effort to either learn your partner’s mother tongue, or an unknown language to both of you in order to impress your partner.
Saying I love you in different languages can also be very useful while traveling around the world. In some languages you’ll have a special way of expressing love to a partner compared to expressing your love for friends and family.
How to say I love you in Chinese
In Chinese, you would say 我爱你 (Wo ai ni) but some also say it in English. If you want to say that you like someone, you can use 我喜欢你 (wǒ xǐ huān nǐ) or 我希望和你交往 (wǒ xī wàng hé nǐ jiāo wǎng) which means that “I would like us to date”.
How to say I love you in Arabic
In Arabic, you would say ٲنَا بحِبَّك (Ana bahebak) which is pronounced A-NA BA-HE-BACK. Depending on which Arabic is spoken, it can differ slightly in wording, but everyone will understand Ana Bahebak.
Another popular love expression in Arabic is Enta Habibi, which means you’re my love or Ya Hayati, which means you are my life.
How to say I love you in French
Je t’aime is the French translation for I love you, but there are also other ways to express your affection for someone in French. You could for example say Je t’adore (I adore you) or Je suis folle de toi (I’m crazy about you).
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How to say I love you in Japanese
In Japanese, you would say 愛してる which is pronounced ai-shi-te-ru. However, this is only used when you’re very serious about your partner. If you want to say that you really like someone you can say 大好きだよ (dai suki da yo).
How to say I love you in Spanish
There are two ways of saying I love you in Spanish, the first one is Te Amo, but you could also say Te Quiero.
There are many ways to express your love in Spanish, for example, you could say Tu Eres Mi Corazon, which means “you’re my heart” or you could say Eres el Amor de mi Vida, which means “you’re the love of my life”.
How to say I love you in German
In German, you would say Ich Liebe Dich, but you could also use some other expressions depending on the situation and to whom you say it to. Ich habe dich gerne can also be used to say I like you in German or Ich hab dich lieb, which means I have love for you.
How to say I love you in Korean
사랑해 (Saranghae) is the most common way to say I love you in Korean and it’s pronounced like sa-rung-he. There are several love expressions that you could use depending on if you’re saying it in a formal way to a teacher, or perhaps to your mother.
선생님, 사랑합니다 [seon-sang-nim sa-lang-hap-ni-da] is a formal way of saying I love you in Korean. 엄마, 사랑해요 [um-ma sa-lang-hae-yo] means I love you, Mom.
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List of how to say I love you in different languages
| Language | How to say “I Love You” |
| Afrikaans | Ek het jou lief |
| Albanian | Unë të dua |
| Arabic | ٲنَا بحِبَّك (Ana bahebak) |
| Armenian | Ես սիրում եմ քեզ (Yes sirum yem k’yez) |
| Bengal | Āmi tōmāẏa bhālōbāsi |
| Bosnian | Volim Te |
| Bulgarian | обичам те (obicham te) |
| Chinese | 我爱你 (Wo ai ni) |
| Croatian | Volim Te |
| Czech | Miluji tě |
| Danish | Jeg elsker dig |
| Netherlands (Dutch) | Ik hou van je |
| English | I Love You |
| Estonian | Ma armastan sind |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Mahal Kita |
| Finnish | Rakastan sinua |
| French | Je t’aime |
| Georgian | მიყვარხარ (miq’varkhar) |
| German | Ich Liebe Dich |
| Greek | Σ΄αγαπώ (Se agapo) |
| Hawaiian | aloha wau iā ‘oe |
| Hebrew | אני אוהב אותך (Ani ohev otakh) |
| Hindi | मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हुँ (Main tumse pyar kartha hoon) |
| Hungarian | Szeretlek |
| Icelandic | ég elska þig |
| Indonesian (bahasa) | Aku cinta padamu |
| Italian | Ti Amo |
| Japanese | 愛してる (Aishiteru) |
| Korean | 사랑해 (Saranghae) |
| Lao | ຂ້ອຍຮັກເຈົ້າ (khony hak chao) |
| Latvian | Es mīlu Tevi |
| Macedonia | Те сакам (Te sakam) |
| Mandarin | 我爱你 (Wo ai ni) |
| Mongolian | Би чамд хайртай (Bi chamd khairtai) |
| Norwegian | Jeg elsker deg |
| Persian | دوستت دارم |
| Polish | Kocham Ciebie |
| Portuguese | Eu Te Amo |
| Romanian | Te iubesc |
| Russian | Я тебя люблю (Ya tebya liubliu) |
| Serbian | Volim Te |
| Spanish | Te Quiero or Te Amo |
| Swedish | Jag Älskar Dig |
| Tamil | நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Nāṉ uṉṉai kātalikkiṟēṉ) |
| Thai | P̄hm rạk khuṇ/C̄hạn rạk khuṇ |
| Turkish | Seni seviyorum |
| Ukraine | Я тебя люблю (Ya tebya liubliu) |
| Vietnamese | Em yêu anh |
| Zulu | Ngiyakuthanda |
Photo: Helder Almeida/Shutterstock
If you’re a hopeless romantic like me, I’m sure you’ll find this useful, and make your partner smile when you say I love you in different languages from around the world.
My favorite way of saying I love you is actually in Swedish, even though I’m of course a bit biased since I’m Swedish, but “jag Älskar Dig” just sounds so charming when saying it, especially when foreigners pronounce it.
More thoughts about saying I love you in different languages
In some cultures, it takes a lot of time before someone says I love you, for example in Japan, it’s very uncommon that Japanese men say this, even to their partner. Some reasons for this include being shy or that they don’t want to spoil the word and use it too often.
In the United States, for example, it’s very common to say I love you among friends as well as partners. If you date a person from a different culture, it might be a good idea to learn more about their interpretation of saying I love you, and what’s expected.
With that said, don’t be afraid to express your love for others because the more love that’s expressed worldwide, the more happiness will be spread globally, and this is a good thing for sure.
Just be sure to mean it if you decide to tell a person that you love them, no matter if you say it in your own language or a foreign one.
Which of these expressions for saying I love you in different languages did you like the most? Leave a comment below!