Love in different languages: 118 ways to declare I love you
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Aside from hello and goodbye, “I love you” are the three first words that people learn to say in other languages.
We've all said it before, but saying those three words can still be hard sometimes, especially in a different language. And there may be many reasons you’d want to say “I love you” in a foreign language. Maybe it’s because you’re dating someone who doesn’t speak your language. Or perhaps you want to impress someone special with your knowledge of their mother tongue.
If you ever find yourself without a way to tell someone you love them in their language — don't worry! We’ve got you covered with this list of ways to say “I love you” in 118 different languages.
I love you in 100 different languages
As someone who traveled to many countries and met people from all around the world, it never ceases to amaze me how different cultures and different languages express love differently.
In some places, such as Latin America, people tend to be very loving in nature. It probably explains why the Spanish language has many ways of expressing love, such as “te amo” or “te quiero.”
On the other hand, some languages have a limited vocabulary when it comes to love. For example, in Persian, the phrase for “I love you” is “Dooset Daram,” which - translated literally - means “I know you as a friend.”
Similarly, in Navajo, the phrase used to mean “I love you” is “Ayóó anííníshní.” Yet, none of the words in this phrase actually mean “love.” When translated literally, “Ayóó anííníshní” can mean “I adore you” or “I have a regard for you.”
But regardless of the vocabulary limitations of a given language, people will always find ways to express their feelings towards their loved ones. So, here’s how to say “I love you” in 100 different languages. We also included the word “love” in different languages.
| Language | Love | I love you |
|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Liefde | Ek het jou lief |
| Albanian | Dashuri | Unë të dua |
| Amharic | ፍቅር (Fik’iri) | እወድሻለሁ (iwedishalehu) |
| Arabic | (Alhubu) الحب | أحبك (uhibek) |
| Armenian | Սեր (ser) | Ես քեզ սիրում եմ (Yes k’ez sirum yem) |
| Aymara | Munaña | Munsmawa |
| Azerbaijani | Sevgi | Mən səni sevirəm |
| Basque | Maitasuna | Maite zaitut |
| Belarusian | Каханне (kahannie) | я цябе кахаю (ja ciabie kahaju) |
| Bengali | ভালবাসা (Bhālabāsā) | আমিতোমায়ভালোবাসি (Ami tomake bhalobashi) |
| Bosnian | Ljubav | Volim te |
| Bulgarian | Любов (Lyubov) | Обичам те (Obicham te) |
| Burmese | အချစ် (Aahkyit) | မင်းကိုချစ်တယ် (Mainnkohkyittaal) |
| Cantonese | 愛 (ngoi) | 我愛你 (Ngo oiy ney a) |
| Catalan | Amor | T'estimo |
| Cebuano | Gugma | Gihigugma tika |
| Chichewa | Chikondi | Ndimakukondani |
| Corsican | Amore | Ti tengu caru |
| Croatian | Ljubav | Volim te |
| Czech | Láska | Miluji tě |
| Danish | Kærligheden | Jeg elsker dig |
| Dutch | Liefde | Ik houd van je |
| English | Love | I love you |
| Estonian | Armastus | Ma armastan sind |
| Ewe | lɔ̃ | Melɔ̃ wò |
| Farsi (Persian) | (eshgh) عشق | ( dooset daram) دوستت دارم |
| Fijian | Loloma | Au domoni iko |
| Filipino | Pag-ibig | Mahal kita |
| Finnish | Rakkaus | Minä rakastan sinua |
| French | Amour | Je t’aime |
| Gaelic (Irish) | Grá | Is breá liom tú |
| Galician | Amor | Quérote |
| Georgian | Სიყვარული (siq’varuli) | Მიყვარხარ (Miq’varkhar) |
| German | Liebe | Ich liebe dich |
| Greek | Αγάπη (agápi) | Σε αγαπώ (Se agapó) |
| Guarani | Mborayhu | Rohayhu |
| Haitian Creole | Lanmou | Mwen renmen ou |
| Hawaiian | Aloha | Aloha wau iā ʻoe |
| Hebrew | אהבה (ahava) | אני אוהב אותך (ani ohev otkha) |
| Hindi | प्यार (pyaar) | मैं आपसे प्यार करती हूँ (main aapase pyaar karatee hoon) |
| Hmong | Kev hlub | Kuv hlub koj |
| Hungarian | Szeretet | Szeretlek |
| Icelandic | Ást | Ég elska þig |
| Igbo | Ihunanya | A hụrụ m gị n'anya |
| Ilocano | Ayat | Ay-ayaten ka |
| Indonesian | Cinta | Aku mencintaimu |
| Italian | Amore | Ti amo |
| Japanese | 愛 (ai) | 愛してます (Aishitemasu) |
| Kazakh | Махаббат (maxabbat) | Мен сені жақсы көремін (Men seni jaqsı köremin) |
| Khmer | សេចក្ដីរសលាញ់ (sechakdei rsa lea nh) | ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់អ្នក (khnhom sralanh anak) |
| Kinyarwanda | Urukundo | Ndagukunda |
| Korean | 사랑 (salang) | 사랑해요 (salanghaeyo) |
| Kurdish | Evîn | Ez hej te dikim |
| Lao | ກາມາຣົມ (kamarom) | ຂ້ອຍຮັກເຈົ້າ (khony hak chao) |
| Latin | Amor | Te amo |
| Latvian | Mīlestība | Es mīlu Tevi |
| Lithuanian | Meilė | Aš tave myliu |
| Luxembourgish | Léift | Ech hunn dech gär |
| Malagasy | Fitiavana | Tiako ianao |
| Malay | Cinta | Saya sayang awak |
| Maltese | Imħabba | Inħobbok |
| Mandarin | 爱情 (Àiqíng) | 我愛你 (Wǒ ài nǐ) |
| Maori | Aroha | Aroha ana ahau ki a koe |
| Mongolian | Хайртай (khairtai) | Би чамд хайртай (Bi chamd khairtai) |
| Nahuatl | Tlazohtiliztli | Nimitztlazohtla Nimitznequi |
| Navajo | Ánííníshní’ | Ayóó'ánííníshní |
| Nepali | माया (māyā) | म तिमीलाई माया गर्छु (Ma timīlā'ī māyā garchu) |
| Norwegian | Kjærlighet | Jeg elsker deg |
| Pashto | (meena) مينه | (zaa sta are meena laram) زه ستا سره مینه لرم |
| Polish | Miłość | Kocham cię |
| Portuguese | Amor | Te amo |
| Punjabi | ਪਿਆਰ (pi'āra) | ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (Maiṁ tuhānū pi'āra karadā hāṁ) |
| Oromo | Jaalala | Sin jaalladha |
| Quechua | Kuyay | Kuyaykim |
| Romanian | Dragoste | Te iubesc |
| Russian | Любовь (lyubov') | Я тебя люблю (Ya tebya lyublyu) |
| Samoan | Alofa | Oute alofa ia oe |
| Sepedi | Lerato | Ke a go rata |
| Serbian | Љубав (ljubav) | Волим те (Volim te) |
| Sesotho | Lerato | Kea u rata |
| Slovak | Láska | Ľúbim ťa |
| Slovenian | Ljubezen | Ljubim te |
| Somali | Jacaylka | Waan ku jeclahay |
| Spanish | Amor | Te amo |
| Swahili | Upendo | Nakupenda |
| Swedish | Kärlek | jag älskar dig |
| Tagalog | Pag-ibig | Mahal kita |
| Tahitian | Here | Uua here vau ia oe |
| Taiwanese | 愛情(ai cheng) | 我愛你 (góa ài li) |
| Tamil | அன்பு (Aṉpu) | நான் உன்னை நேசிக்கிறேன் (Nāṉ uṉṉai nēcikkiṟēṉ) |
| Thai | รัก (rak) | ฉันรักคุณ (C̄hạn rạk khuṇ) |
| Tibetan | དགའ་པོ (dga' po) | ང་ཁྱོད་ལ་དགའ། (Nga cheo la ga) |
| Tongan | ʻOfa | Oku ou 'ofa au 'ia koe |
| Tsonga | Rirhandzu | Ndza ku rhandza |
| Turkish | Aşk | Seni seviyorum |
| Ukrainian | Любов (lyubov) | я тебе люблю (ya tebe lyublyu) |
| Uzbek | Sevgi | Men sizni sevaman |
| Vietnamese | Yêu và quý | Tôi yêu bạn |
| Welsh | Cariad | Rwy'n dy garu di |
| Xhosa | Uthando | Ndiyakuthanda |
Saying I love you in constructed languages
Being able to say I love you in 100 languages is a huge accomplishment! But if you’re an avid language lover like us, you won’t want to stop there. And for a good reason, because aside from over 7,100 languages spoken in the world, there are also around 900 constructed languages.
So, here’s how to say “I love you” in some of the most popular conlangs (constructed languages).
| Constructed language | I love you |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Mi amas vin |
| Intelingua | Io te ama |
| Lingua Franca Nova | Me ama tu |
| Novial | Me ama vu |
| Ido | Me amas vu/ Me amoras tu |
| Volapuk | Lelöfob oli |
| Lojban | Mi prami do |
| Europanto | Ich amorante van toi |
| Lingwa de planeta | Me lubi-te |
Saying I love you in fantasy languages
Are you a fan of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings? If so, you know that the authors of these motion pictures created entirely new languages to make their imaginary worlds seem more realistic.
In some cases, the fictional languages were created by a linguist hired for this purpose. In other cases, the fans developed the bits and pieces of the languages created by the authors into fully constructed languages.
If you’re a fan of fantasy books, TV shows, and movies, you’d be excited to learn how to say “I love you” in some of the most popular fantasy languages.
| Fantasy language | I love you | Book/movie/show | Language created by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dothraki | Anha zhilak yera | Game of Thrones | David Peterson |
| Valyrian | Avy jorrāelan | Game of Thrones | David Peterson |
| Klingon | Bangwi’ soh | Star Trek | Dr. Marc Okrand |
| Vulcan | I ashaya du | Star Trek | Dr. Marc Okrand |
| Huttese | Uma ji muna | Star Wars | Ben Burtt |
| Sindarin | Gi melin | Lord of the Rings | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Quenya (Elvish) | Melinyel | Lord of the Rings | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Na’vi | Nga yawne lu oer | Avatar | Dr. Paul Frommer |
| Dovahzul | U’u ag fah hi | Skyrim | Adam Adamowicz |
Love songs in different languages
It’s hard to imagine a world without love songs. There’s everywhere, and it’s no surprise: love is such a deep feeling that many people feel the need to be expressed with music.
Chances are that even if you’re not a native English speaker, most love songs you can think of are in English. But what about love songs in other languages? While they may not be as widely known, every language has a huge amount of beautiful songs about love.
So, we’ve created a list of popular love songs in other languages.
Love songs in French:
Love songs in Spanish:
Love songs in German:
- MATTHIAS REIM - Verdammt Ich Lieb Dich (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 'REIM' Album (HITBOX)
- Blümchen - Herz an Herz (Official Video)
Love songs in Polish:
- Krzysztof Zalewski - Miłość Miłość (Official Video)
- Krzysztof Krawczyk - Bo jestes ty [Official Music Video]
Love songs in Turkish:
Love songs in Arabic:
- Nancy Ajram - Albi Ya Albi (Official Music Video) /نانسي عجرم - قلبي يا قلبي
- Amr Diab ... Khalik Maaya | عمرو دياب ... خليك معايا
We just called to say we love you
Now that you know how to say “I love you” in 100 languages, 9 constructed languages, and 9 fantasy languages, you’re armed with plenty of vocabulary to express your love for someone.
We hope that this article has inspired you to do that. We know that’s sometimes easier said than done, but in the words of Barbara de Angelis, “You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.”
Want more?
- Check out 183 creative ways to say I love you in English here.
- Discover beautiful French quotes about love here.
- Explore terms of endearment in Spanish here.
- Learn how to say I love you in German here.
- Embrace expressing your love in Italian here.
And if you’d like to continue your language-learning journey, check out our other fun-filled articles on our language blog.
