How to Say "I Love You" in 20 Languages

A little effort in someone else's language goes a long way. Here is how to say "I love you" in 20 languages, with pronunciation.

🇰🇷 Korean

I love you: sarang-hae (sa-rang-hae). This casual form is used with close friends, partners, and family; more formal contexts use sarang-hamnida (sa-rang-ham-ni-da).

🇬🇧 English

I love you: I love you. Simple and direct, used for both romantic and familial love -- unlike many other languages, English uses the same phrase for both.

🇫🇷 French

I love you: Je t'aime (zhuh tem). French speakers often reserve "je t'aime" for serious romantic or family relationships, using "je t'aime bien" (I like you) for lighter affection.

🇪🇸 Spanish

I love you: Te amo (teh AH-moh) or Te quiero (teh kee-EH-roh). "Te quiero" is more common in everyday use, while "te amo" carries a more intense, formal weight.

🇩🇪 German

I love you: Ich liebe dich (ikh LEE-buh dikh). Germans tend to say this less casually than English speakers say "I love you," reserving it for genuinely serious relationships.

🇮🇹 Italian

I love you: Ti amo (tee AH-moh). Like Spanish, Italian distinguishes this from "ti voglio bene" (I care about you), used for friends and family.

🇯🇵 Japanese

I love you: Aishiteru (ai-shi-teh-roo). The phrase is considered quite intense in Japanese, so "suki" ("I like you") is often used instead in everyday relationships.

🇨🇳 Mandarin Chinese

I love you: Wo ai ni (wor eye nee). As in Japanese, "ai" ("love") is considered a strong word, and "wo xihuan ni" (I like you) is more common early in a relationship.

🇵🇹 Portuguese

I love you: Eu te amo (eh-oo chee AH-moo). Widely used and understood across both Portugal and Brazil, though everyday pronunciation differs noticeably between the two.

🇷🇺 Russian

I love you: Ya tebya lyublyu (ya tee-BYA lyoob-LYOO). A direct, sincere phrase generally reserved for serious relationships rather than casual use.

🇸🇦 Arabic

I love you: Ana uhibbuka (to a man) or uhibbuki (to a woman) -- pronounced AH-na oo-HIB-boo-ka/kee. Arabic grammar changes the ending depending on the gender of the person being addressed.

🇳🇱 Dutch

I love you: Ik hou van jou (ik HOW van yow). "Ik hou van je" is a slightly more casual variant used with the informal "you."

🇸🇪 Swedish

I love you: Jag alskar dig (yahg ELS-kar day). "Alska" (to love) is used more sparingly than English "love," often reserved for romantic partners and family.

🇩🇰 Danish

I love you: Jeg elsker dig (yai ELS-ker dai). Closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, reflecting the shared roots of the Scandinavian languages.

🇫🇮 Finnish

I love you: Mina rakastan sinua (MIH-nah RAH-kahs-tahn SIH-noo-ah). Finnish is not a Scandinavian language at all, but part of the unrelated Finno-Ugric family, which is part of why it sounds so different from its Nordic neighbors.

🇵🇱 Polish

I love you: Kocham cie (KOH-hahm chyeh). A Slavic language where "kochac" (to love) can also extend to close friends and family, not only romantic partners.

🇬🇷 Greek

I love you: S'agapo (sah-gah-POH). The root "agape" is the same word used in ancient Greek philosophy for selfless, unconditional love.

🇰🇪 Swahili

I love you: Nakupenda (nah-koo-PEN-dah). Swahili is a major lingua franca across East Africa, spoken by tens of millions of people as a first or second language.

🌺 Hawaiian

I love you: Aloha wau ia 'oe (ah-LOH-hah wow ee-AH oh-eh). "Aloha" itself carries a broader meaning of love, affection, and compassion beyond just a greeting.

🇷🇴 Romanian

I love you: Te iubesc (teh yoo-BESK). A Romance language, like French, Spanish, and Italian, but shaped by centuries of geographic isolation in Eastern Europe, giving it a distinct sound and vocabulary.

Why bother learning it in another language?

Knowing how to say "I love you" in another language is useful for travel, international relationships, or simply as a fun conversation starter. Your pronunciation does not need to be perfect -- a sincere attempt is usually more than enough to get the sentiment across.

The same three words don't always mean the same thing

Many languages draw a sharper line than English does between romantic love and platonic affection, using entirely different words or softer phrases (like "I like you" or "I care about you") for anything short of a serious relationship. Using the strongest phrase too early can come across as more intense than intended, so it helps to know both the strong version and the lighter one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these pronunciation guides exactly how a native speaker would say each phrase?

The phonetic spellings here are simplified approximations meant to get you close, not an exact substitute for hearing a native speaker. Accent and intonation will always differ somewhat from a written guide.

Does the same language ever have more than one way to say it?

Yes -- Spanish's "Te amo" and "Te quiero," or Japanese's "Aishiteru" and "suki," are good examples of a single language offering multiple phrases depending on how intense or casual the feeling is.