{"id":13689,"date":"2020-02-05T13:34:46","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.pimsleur.com\/?p=13689"},"modified":"2025-11-20T13:06:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T18:06:54","slug":"linguistics-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/linguistics-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Say \u201cI Love You\u201d in Different Languages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It might just be the most basic, primal, natural human phrase\u2026\u201cI love you,\u201d but not everything crosses cultural and linguistic lines. Peculiar regional quirks, cuisine, art, and (most certainly) language \u2013 diverge in different parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet love knows no boundaries. Love in different languages is an interesting study of how different people and cultures convey warmth, empathy, and passion.Since Pimsleur learners share a natural love of language, we decided to bring you a deep dive into how the word \u201clove\u201d came to be, discuss different words for love in other languages, speak to traditions around the globe, and \u2013 of course \u2013 list the ways to say \u201cI love you\u201d in different languages!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Universal Language of Love Across Cultures<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ancient Greece was one of the first civilizations to make widespread use of the written language. Whenever you think of \u201cI love you\u201d in different languages, you can thank those Athenians and Spartans of yesteryear for laying the groundwork for expressing love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Greeks had four words for love, eros<\/em>, agape<\/em>, philia<\/em>, and storg\u00e9<\/em>.  Philia<\/em> is the word for the sort of love one shares with one\u2019s friends, but also describes a strong fondness for certain activities. Its root is the suffix \u2013phil<\/em>\u2013 which specifies an attraction or affinity toward something. You\u2019ll recognize it from words such as hemophilia<\/em>, which literally means \u201can affinity toward bleeding profusely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storg\u00e9<\/em> is specifically the sort of instinctual affection that is shared between family members or a person and their pet. Agape<\/em> is more of a selfless and unconditional, spiritual love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And eros<\/em> is passionate, carnal romantic love. Eros<\/em> is also the name of the Greek god of love, whose Roman counterpart you\u2019ll recognize as Cupid<\/em>.These ancient Greek words would be used as a blueprint of sorts for all languages that developed afterward, especially in Europe<\/a> and Western Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of Love in English<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We could certainly use some of these more descriptive words in the English language! We only have one word for love; from the proto-indo european root leubh <\/em>\u2013 which meant \u201cto care, desire.\u201d We have absorbed some words from other languages to expand upon that feeling for example, amorous<\/em>, from Old French<\/a> amoros<\/em>, from Latin amor<\/em> and passion<\/em>, from Latin passio<\/em>, meaning \u201cto suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring Unique Words for Love in Other Languages<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The equivalent word for eros<\/em> in the Hindu and Buddhist tradition is kama<\/em>, which you\u2019ll recognize from the title of the Kamasutra, an ancient Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism, and emotional fulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Arabic<\/a>, the word is \u0639\u0634\u0642 (pronounced eishq)<\/em>, and in some Islamic traditions, it is thought to be the feeling that inspired creation itself. Arabic has many other words for various types of love, including \u062d\u0628 (habb)<\/em>, which you\u2019ll recognize from the words \u062d\u0628\u064a\u0628 (habib)<\/em> and \u062d\u0628\u064a\u0628\u064a (habibi)<\/em>, terms of endearment for a man or a woman, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew<\/a> word \u05d7\u05b6\u05e1\u05b6\u05d3 (chesed)<\/em>, is used to speak of love or kindness from or towards God or between people. It\u2019s also one of the 10 emanations of the tree of life in the Kabbalistic tradition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Romanian<\/a>, the word dragoste<\/em> is used, and it describes both familial love, romantic love, affection, and endearment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Czech<\/a>, milovat<\/em> is used, from the root word mily<\/em>, meaning \u201ckind or dear,\u201d and the suffix \u2013ovat<\/em> which creates verbs out of nouns or adjectives. In Swahili<\/a>, the word upendo<\/em> is used, which is also a common name for boy children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love in the Pacific Islands<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the M\u0101ori language, there is the word aroha<\/em>, which means \u201cto have empathy for, to feel compassion for, to love or feel concern for.\u201d  The phrase murimuri aroha<\/em> is an even deeper expression of that feeling or action of yearning, and includes the yearning one feels when one is in grief. The word whakaipo<\/em> means, \u201cto cherish, woo or treat with affection,\u201d and one would probably whakaipo<\/em> one\u2019s taupuhi<\/em>, or \u201cbeloved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Hawaii, people use the word aloha<\/em> as a greeting, but at the heart of that greeting is a deeper feeling of peaceful, loving friendship toward other people and toward and from the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Tamil language of Sri Lanka, there are over 40 nuanced words for love, that include words for unreciprocated love, delusion while in love, and even a specific word for the action of showing your love for someone by holding them in your arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese Love Language<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In China, the words for \u201cI love you,\u201d are  \u6211\u7231\u4f60\u201d (w\u01d2 \u00e0i n\u01d0<\/em>), but because the sentiment behind these words is so strong, they are not often used or spoken aloud. People tend to perform actions for each other to show their affection instead. Because the words for \u201cI love you\u201d and the number 520 sound very similar when spoken, there is a newer custom amongst younger people to text each other these numbers as a code for terms of affection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordic Love Language<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In many of the Nordic languages, the word for love is some variant of the word elske<\/em>. This is reserved for only the most extreme of feelings, so generally, people use the terms jeg liker deg<\/em>, which means, \u201cI like you,\u201d or, jeg er glad i deg<\/em>, which means \u201cI\u2019m glad of you,\u201d or \u201cyou make me happy.\u201d  The word kj\u00e6re<\/em> means \u201cbeloved\u201d and in Norwegian, there is just one word for boyfriend or girlfriend, which is kj\u00e6reste<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ways to Say \u201cI Love You\u201d in Different Languages<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With that glimpse into the history of \u201clove,\u201d and a brief look at how different cultures look at the idea of love, it\u2019s time to see a list of the many ways to say \u201cI love you\u201d in different languages. You\u2019ll note that (surprise!) the Romance languages like French<\/a>, Italian<\/a>, and Spanish<\/a> express love lyrically. Other languages may not sound as flowery to foreign ears when learning how to say \u201cI love you\u201d in different languages. It\u2019s up to you whether you think the other expressions are more \u201clovely\u201d than your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, here\u2019s how love in different languages is expressed\u2026enjoy!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. French \u2013 Je t\u2019aime<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Italian<\/a> \u2013 Ti amo<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Spanish<\/a> \u2013 Te amo. Te quiero<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. German \u2013 Ich liebe dich<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Portuguese (Brazil) \u2013 Eu te amo.<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Portuguese (Portugal) – <\/em>Eu amo-te.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Russian \u2013  <\/em><\/strong>\u044f \u0442\u0435\u0431\u044f \u043b\u044e\u0431\u043b\u044e. <\/em><\/strong>(Ya tebya lyublyu.)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Mandarin Chinese \u2013 \u6211<\/em><\/strong>\u7231\u4f60.<\/em><\/strong> (w\u01d2 \u00e0i n\u01d0.)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Cantonese Chinese \u2013 \u6211\u611b\u4f60.<\/em><\/strong> (ng\u00f3h oi n\u00e9ih.)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Japanese \u2013 \u611b\u3057\u3066\u308b.<\/em><\/strong> (aishiteru.)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Korean  \u2013 \uc0ac\ub791\ud574.<\/em><\/strong> (Saranghae.)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Tagalog \u2013 Mahal kita.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. Swahili \u2013 Nakupenda.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. Dutch \u2013 Ik hou van jou.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. Hebrew \u2013<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n