French has always been known as the language of love. Perhaps it has something to do with Paris or the way the language sounds, or perhaps itâs because the French were historically the first to really embrace the concept of falling in love before marriage.
It is not surprising, then, to discover that there are many different types of ways to say âI love youâ and express your love in French.
Here is one example: Have you ever played the game with a flower, where you pick off the petals one by one and say, âHe loves me. He loves me notâ? Well, in French there are five different stages of love in this game in French, from âNot at allâ to âHeâs crazy about you.â
You can view all of the French expressions by scrolling down, or use the links below if youâd like to jump to a certain section. You can learn these expressions and more in our Love deck on Lingvist!
- âI Love Youâ in French
- Terms of Endearment
- I Miss You
- Hugs and Kisses
- French Love Phrases
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âI Love Youâ in French
Ah, love! Some say it was the French that invented love. The famous French courts were the first to start talking about passionate love and marriage for love.
We all know that love comes in phases. Letâs look at a bunch of different phrases for âI love youâ in French.
Je tâaime bien â I like you. Yes, it translates directly to âI love you well.â
Je tâaime â I love you. This can be used with your lover, as well as with friends and family.
Je suis amoureux/amoureuse de toi â I am in love with you. This should only be used with your lover.
Je tâaime beaucoup â You mean a lot to me. It doesnât have to do with love: You would be sad if you heard this from your lover.
Je tâaime pour toujours â I love you forever.
Je tâaime chaque jour davantage â I love you more each day.
Je tâaime plus que le jour â I love you more than the day.
Je tâaime de toute mon Ăąme â I love you with all of my soul.
Je tâadore â I adore you. In French, it means something more like âI like you very very muchâ and is used as something in between âJe tâaimeâ and âJe tâaime bien.â
Je tâaime passionnĂ©ment â I love you passionately.
Je tâaime Ă la folie â I love you like crazy.
Je tâaime dâamour â I love you with true love.
Jâai le bĂ©guin â I have a crush.
Elle sâest amourachĂ©e de quelquâun â She is stupidly in love with someone. Yes, in French there is a verb that means âto be stupidly in love,â though the French dictionary translates it as âto have a sudden, often temporary love.â
Terms of Endearment
Now that you know how to tell someone you love them, what do you call them? After youâve been with your lover or partner a while, their name quickly gets old and is so plain. Why not pick up one of these terms of endearment for your special person?
Mon amour â my love Mon bĂ©bĂ© â my baby Mon ange â my angel Ma chĂ©rie â my dear (feminine form) Mon chĂ©ri â my dear (masculine form) Ma puce â my flea (Fleas can be cute, right?) Ma caille â my quail Ma biche â my deer (as in the animal, a doe)
I Miss You
When you are in love, it will happen that you miss the person you have fallen in love with! Letâs look at how you would say âI miss youâ in French.
Tu me manques â translates to âI miss you,â but it literally means âYou me missâ or âYou are missed by me.â (Est-ce que) je te manque â (Do) you miss me?
And, of course, you can add modifiers at the end to express how much you really miss someone.
Tu me manquesâŠ
Tu me manques aussi â I miss you too. Toi aussi â Me too.
You can also reply:
beaucoup â a lot tellement â so much dĂ©jĂ â already grave â seriously (or think of it as gravely). This is very colloquial and used only among young people and teenagers.
Other expressions for missing someone:
Je suis impatient(e) de te voir â I canât wait (am impatient) to see you. Jâai hĂąte que tu reviennes - I canât wait (have haste) until you come back. Jâai hĂąte de te revoir â I canât wait (have haste) to see you again.
Hugs & Kisses
You may want to translate âhugs and kissesâ directly, but if you do that it will get you into trouble. In France, it is all about kisses (Did you know that you greet people with two kisses, one on each cheek?). Hugs arenât so important.
You may get the urge to use the direct translation of âcĂąlins et bisous,â but this is not used as a phrase in France. Instead, they focus more on kisses.
Bisous â Kiss. This is used for closing letters or emails, or for saying goodbye in French. Gros bisous â Large kiss. Bises â Kisses!
If you want to mention hugs, it will sound better using the verb âembrasser.â
Je tâembrasse â I hug (embrace) you.
French Love Phrases
Lastly, we are going to finish up by looking at some other French love phrases and expressions that you can use with your lover.
Jâai eu un coup de foudre â I experienced love at first sight (I had a bolt of lightning).
Est-ce que tu veux sortir avec moi â Would you like to go out with me?
Jâaimerais tâinviter Ă dĂźner â I would love to invite you to dinner.
Jâaimerais passer plus de temps avec toi â I would love to spend more time with you.
Tu es lâhomme/la femme de mes rĂȘves â You are the man/woman of my dreams.
Je suis folle/fou de toi â I am crazy about you.
Tu me rends dingue â You make me stupid.
Je tâai dans la peau â Iâve got you under my skin (I have you in the skin). This isnât love, but lust. It means you canât stop thinking about someone in a lustful way.
Tu me rends tellement heureux/heureuse â You make me so happy.
Sans toi, je ne suis rien â Without you, I am nothing.
Je ne suis pas bien sans toi â I am not good without you.
Now you have all the knowledge you need in order to fall madly in love and impress a French speaker.
Ready to memorize these words in the fastest way possible? Then you must check out our deck on romantic French words on Lingvist!
You will need access to a Lingvist subscription in order to get this French deck, but all new learners currently have the opportunity to use a free trial of Lingvist.
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Romantic French Phrases Poster
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