Knowing how a native speaker says ‘I love you’ isn’t just something to know for romantic relationships. As, unlike in English, many European languages often use a version of ‘I love you’ amongst friends.
So when learning languages, immersed in the culture of another country, it’s important to understand the difference.
How to say I love you in French
Widely renowned as the ‘language of love’, it’s not a surprise that there’s a sliding scale when it comes to the phraseology of affection in French.
A simple ‘Je t’aime’ means’ I love you’ in French. But it relates to friends as equally as a lover.
Then there’s ‘Je t’aime chaque jour davantage’ which translates to ‘I love you more each day’ which goes a little deeper. And then ‘Je t’aime à la folie’ which spells out ‘I love you like crazy’.
How to say I love you in Spanish
When saying ‘I love you’ in Spanish there’s the basic ‘Te quiero’ and ‘Te amo’. The former being something that you would also say to friends. For a more significant declaration of love you can say ‘Tienes todo mi corazón’ which means ‘you have all of my heart’.
Then there is the slightly odd but affectionate phrase of ‘Eres mi media naranja’. It literally translates to ‘you’re my half orange’ but is just a cute way of saying ‘you’re my other half’.
How to say I love you in Portuguese
The easiest way to say ‘I love you’ in Portuguese is ‘Te amo’. But beware, it is used just as readily when speaking with a parent as it is a partner.
In romantic relationships people tend to say things more like ‘Mundo para mim’ which means ‘you are my world’ or ‘Você me faz sentir complete’ meaning ‘you make me feel complete’.
It may sound slightly intense in English, but in Portuguese these kinds of phrases are common.
How to say I love you in German
When it comes to saying ‘I love you’ in German, expressions hold true with much of the culture's stereotypes in that they are rather reserved.
The most basic way of saying ‘I love you’ in German is ‘Ich liebe dich’ but is not something to be thrown around. It is only ever used in significant romantic relationships, and never with friends.
There isn’t really a platonic version of ‘I love you’ in German, but you can use “Ich hab dich lieb” which roughly translates to ‘I like you lots’. Even then it is mainly only used amongst women.
How to say I love you in Italian
Depending on whether you are speaking to a lover or family member there are two different ways to say ‘I love you’ in Italian and it’s very important not to get them mixed up.
For a romantic relationship you use ‘Te amo’, but for a platonic relationship,‘Ti voglio bien’.
However, in line with the passion and flamboyance of Italian, there are also plenty of other ways too. ‘Sei tutto per me’ meaning ‘you’re everything to me’ and ‘Sei la mia anima gemella’ meaning ‘you are my soulmate’ are popular phrases.
In conclusion
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