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

Updated: Jan 25

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