Loving and being loved is such a wonderful feeling. Think about how romantic it could be to bring up your lover's breakfast to bed, open the windows and just say good morning my sweetheart, or I love you, babe. But what if you want to say it in the French language? How do you say I love you in French?
Let's learn the right words and expressions to speak about your feelings and emotions toward someone you cherish.
1. What is the translation of love in French?
The word for love in French is amour which is a masculine word.
When used in plural form, depending on the level of language, it can be a masculine (common language) or feminine word (poetic language).
Example
C’est bien d’avoir un amour mutuel. => Its good to have a reciprocal love.
Les amours de Lucie sont toujours compliqués. =>Lucies’s love stories are always complicated.
« Le vert paradis des amours enfantines » Charles Baudelaire => the green paradise of his chilhood loves.
Other words and phrases can also be used to mean love in French.
For example :
Avoir de l’admiration pour quelqu’un
Avoir de l’affection pour quelqu’un
Avoir le béguin pour quelqu’un
Une amourette = a fling, a love affair
Une idylle = une amourette
Une histoire d’amour = a love story
The opposite of love, hatred, is la haine in French.
2. What is the French verb for to love or to like?
Aimer is the French translation of to like /to love in French. To speak about reciprocal love, French people use the verb s’aimer which means to love each other.
Example
Tu aimes le cinéma ? => Do you like cinema ?
J’aime ma sœur => I love my sister
Ma sœur et moi nous nous aimons bien. => My sister and I love each other well.
The verb Aimer can be followed with the adverbs bien or beaucoup and that will change the meaning of the sentence.
Je t’aime = I love you
Je t’aime bien = I like you
Je t’aime beaucoup =I love you very much.
3. What expressions can you use to tell someone you love him/her?
Below is a list of essential phrases you can use to express your heartfelt love
In French when you are the first one to say it.
Je t'aime de tout mon cœur = I love you with all my heart
Je t'aime de toute mon âme = Il love you with all my soul
Je t'aime de toutes mes forces = I love you with all my strength
Je t’aime à la folie = I am crazy about you
Je suis éperdument amoureux (amoureuse) de toi = I am madly in love with you
Je suis follement amoureux (amoureuse) de toi = I am madly in love with you
Mon cœur bat la chamade = My heart beats wildly
Mon cœur ne bat que pour toi = My heart beats only for you
Je t’adore = I love you (kind of I worship you)
Tu es l’amour de Ma vie = You are the love of my life.
4. How to say "my love" or "my sweetheart" in French?
The body part that symbolizes love is the heart : le cœur. Then we can easily understand that you call your other half as mon cœur. This can be used with no consideration of his/her gender.
Mon amour is the other common way, used for both men and women.
You will also encounter these French expressions used for females:
ma dulcinée = my sweetheart
mon bébé = my babe
mon soleil = my sun (even if soleil and bébé refers to a lady, we use the possessive adjective "mon" in this context as soleil and bébé is a masculine word)
ma biche = my deer
ma chérie = my darling
ma valentine = my valentine.
ma petite amie = my girlfriend
ma fiancée = my fiancee
ma doudou = my beloved (this expression is mostly used in the Caribbean).
For men, their lovers like to call them as :
mon chéri = my darling