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How do you say I love you in French: Romantic words French people use

Updated: Jan 25, 2023

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.



Romantic words used for saying I love you in French


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

  • Mon ange =my angel

  • Mon valentin = my valentine

  • mon petit ami = my boyfriend

  • mon fiancé = my fiancee.

If ever you are looking for love cards /Valentines Day cards, invitations, or prints in French or English language, you can find some here.

Talking about the love of a mother for her children, the following expressions can be a right fit.

  • Ma belle

  • Ma cocotte

  • Ma puce (literally my flea) = sweetheart

  • Mon cœur

  • Mon chéri

  • Mon grand

  • Mon ange

If you want to express the reciprocity of your love for someone, you can just say "moi aussi" which can be translated as "me too".

You have certainly heard about the famous song "je t'aime, moi non plus". Normally "moi non plus" means "me neither". But in this context, it refers to the kind of love where the couple plays the cat-and-mouse game. I love you and you don't and When you love me, I don't.




5. Other expressions including the word love


Here are expressions including the French word love that you might want to use depending on the circumstances.

  • Je ne t'aime pas => I don't love you

  • Je ne t'aime plus => I don't love you anymore

  • Je t'aime vraiment => I really love you

  • Je t'aime toujours => I still love you

  • Je t'aimerai toujours => I will always love you


To conclude


Now, you know how to say I love you in French and you are ready for using this vocabulary to impress your sweetheart/Valentine. Show your love and let him/her know that you have learned well your lesson and are ready to speak confidently French, the language of romance and love.



If you want to take your learning further, we suggest Lingoda for online group classes or private classes. Their classes are affordable (from 50 euros per month for 4 classes), well structured according to CEFR guidelines, with a communicative approach that gets you quickly comfortable speaking. You can join their next challenge, the Lingoda Sprint starting on February 20th, 2023. If you commit to taking 1 class a day for 2 months (60 classes), without missing any class, you get 100% cashback. and if you choose to take a class every two days (30 classes), you will get 50% cashback.

This is a great way to accelerate your learning with intensive classes. However, this is not for everyone. If you can't commit daily, you better join their regular classes. that you can try for free here.


Note: For those who register for the Lingoda Sprint before February 9th, 2023, they will automatically enter the raffle and may get the chance of being among those 3 winners who get 1 year of free classes.

2 תגובות


boddu_ravikumar
07 באפר׳ 2021

J'aime le lesson. Mecy beacoup.

לייק
Chantal BRIBA
Chantal BRIBA
07 באפר׳ 2021
בתשובה לפוסט של

Je vous en prie! Je suis ravie que la leçon vous plaise.

לייק
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