How to Say I Love You in French in 141 Weird & Wonderful Ways (2023)

If you’ve recently taken up French as a second language, you may have been drawn to it by its romantic allure. If that sounds like you, then you need to drop everything and focus on learning how to say I love you in French.

Even if you have other reasons for studying French, there is certainly much to gain from learning how to express love in French.

And even if you think you already know all about love en français, you might want to think again. French people tend to think very differently about love and when and how to say I love you.

On a related note, discover a wealth of romantic phrases and words about love in French here.

Otherwise, keep reading to learn 141 ways to say I love you in French plus plenty of cultural context that will keep you from making a faux pas next time you want to express your love (romantic or platonic!) to a French person!

Why learn how to say I love you in French

Beyond confessing your love to your favorite person, learning how to express your feelings of love in Frenchwill help you in virtually every other part of your French-learning journey. Don’t believe us? Check out all the reasons why you should learn to talk about love in French:

• You’ll be able to date francophone people, and there is no better way to learn French than by communicating in it with your significant other!
• You’ll be able to watch romantic French movies and TV shows.
• You’ll be able to read the best romance fiction books in French, including classics like Madame Bovary and Emmanuelle.
• You'll be able to appropriately express your appreciation to your loved ones, without putting your foot in your mouth!

The French have very particular norms about when it is and isn’t appropriate to say I love you, so the last reason is actually one of the most important! It could save you from potential embarrassment at best, and even from ruining an important relationship at worst.

How to say I love you in French

If you’ve studied French for a little while already, you probably already know that the literal translation of I love you is je t’aime. However, you may or may not also know that je t’aime also means I like you. So, what gives?

Part of the beauty of learning a new language is that you also get to learn a new culture. That’s what makes studying a foreign language such a worthwhile experience. That’s why you need to go beyond just asking “How do you say I love you in French?” to really become proficient in French love.

When learning how to express love in French, it is imperative that you also spend some time studying the cultural norms and where and when it’s appropriate to say which phrases.

Keep reading to learn all about the French cultural sensitivities surrounding words and phrases related to love.

To a boyfriend, girlfriend and/or romantic love

Expressing love to a romantic partner is a big deal. It means you’re ready to be in a serious, committed relationship with them. So, be very careful next time you think about casually saying “je t’aime” to someone you’re not utterly in love with.

You’ll also find that French people don’t tend to outwardly express love with their friends and family. It’s not uncommon at all for mothers and fathers to never say je t’aime to their children.

This is in stark contrast to Spanish-speaking cultures, for example. If you’ve studied love in Spanish culture before, you’re probably aware that expressing love is an everyday thing for most people in Latin America. You can express your love to just about every close friend and family member, but that is not the case in France.

Instead, French people express platonic love with different phrases and little pet names for saying “my love.” We’ll cover all of that in a different section below, so for now let’s stick to what we’re here for: how to say I love you in French to a boyfriend, girlfriend, or partner.

In the table below, we’ll include many ways to express love to your significant other, from a simple I love you more in French, to more risky phrases like I love you handsome in French. Let’s get into it!

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To a friend, family member or platonic love

Sometimes, you need to tell someone that you love them without implying that you’re in love with them. Luckily, there’s a very simple way to say I love you in French to a friend. Almost paradoxically, the most common way to do this in French is to add a bien after je t’aime.

If you already have a few French classes under your belt, you’re probably familiar with bien and how it usually means “good” or “well.” So, how does adding bien reduce the intensity rather than increase it?

Adding bien after a verb changes the meaning of bien to “enough” or “sufficiently.” So, almost cruelly, what you’re really saying when you say je t’aime bien is “I love you sufficiently”, with the hidden implication being “yet not enough to be romantic”.

It may sound rough, but rest assured that it doesn’t carry over any negative connotations in French. It’s totally acceptable to say je t’aime bien to your friends and family. Their feelings won’t be hurt, we promise!

You can also add a few words here and there to make things sound more natural. For example, instead of randomly blurting out that you love someone, you can say things like “goodnight, I love you” in French to avoid raising any eyebrows. Let us show you below.

How to say “my love” in French

Another way to express affection to your loved ones is to give them a pet name. Instead of saying “my love,” you can call them by many other names that are context-specific.

Even if some of them do sound a little mean (like ma pouce—my flea), rest assured that they are all affectionate and meant to show love. And speaking of pets, you might want to put your own spin on your terms of endearmentand other ways to say my love in French by mastering the animals in French here.

Here are some of the most common affectionate pet names in French, and we’ve included their specific contexts as well!

How to say I like you in French

If you grew up in the United States, you probably have a very clear idea of the phases of dating. First you tell someone you like them, you ask them out on a date, and after a few weeks (or months, even!) you tell them you love them. At that point, things are very serious.

Well, there is no such thing in France. Just as we’ve covered how the difference between I love you and I like you in French is murky, so is the difference between these two phases when it comes to dating.

If you like someone and start to go out with them—that’s it! You’re dating. You’re in an exclusive relationship. There is no such thing as the “I like you” phase versus the “I love you” phase. Thus, there is no clear way to translate into French what you’d normally say (or do!) in English.

So, if you want to ask someone out, you’ll have to be very careful with your words. Be careful to never use je t’aime bien as a way to tell someone that you like them and want to get to know them. That implies that you’re not interested in them romantically.

You should instead ask someone out on a date if you want to tell them that you like them. You can say “tu veux sortir avec moi ?” if you want to be straightforward. You could also say “tu me plais” which translates roughly to “I fancy you,” just keep in mind that it may imply that you’re only physically attracted to them.

You could also say “Je te kiffe,” just keep in mind that it is a French slang term. You probably only want to use this if you’re very young or have a very laid back personality.

Will you marry me in French

If you are absolutely certain that you’re ready to take things to the next level with your chéri(e), then you might be wondering how to pop the question.

If you’re planning to get down on one knee soon, you’ll definitely want to learn the following phrases.

Love quotes in French

Learning how to show love in French is only part of the battle. To be a truly romantic person, you'll need to know phrases and quotes about love in French. Here are some of our favorite love quotes that are sure to impress whoever you are trying to flatter.

French love songs

One of the best things you can do to improve your language skills is listen to music. Listening to songs in your target language will train your brain to digest the language naturally without having to translate things in your head.

Plus, it can be a great way to memorize specific vocab. If you learn how to sing along to a couple of love songs, you’ll have memorized quite a bit of French love vocab!

Here are some of our favorite French love songs.

La vie en rose by Edith Piaf

Of course, no blog about French love would be complete without mentioning the quintessential French romantic song: la vie en rose. You must have heard of this song before, but now that you have some love vocabulary under your belt, you should be able to make out some of the lyrics.

With enough practice, you’ll be able to sing along to the song like a pro! Singing skills aside, this is a very fun song to belt out, even if you don’t have a perfect pitch.

Tout s’efface by Patrick Bruel

If you still have trouble fully understanding the difference between je t’aime and je t’aime bien, all you need to do is listen to Tout s’efface by Patrick Bruel. In the chorus, he solemnly sings:

Tu m’aimes bien, je t’aime tout court. La différence, s'appelle l’amour.

So, the difference between je t’aime bien and je t’aime is simply called: love.

Pour que tu m’aimes encore by Céline Dion

French-Canadian ballad powerhouse Céline Dion has an excellent discography all around. Pour que tu m’aimes encore, however, is a great song for those looking to reinforce vocabulary through music.

If you find that you like this song, check out the rest of Céline Dion’s French discography! You will definitely level up your French if you memorize a few of her songs.

Romantic sayings in French

If you’re already well-versed in talking about love in French, you'll want to know some additional ways to express love that don’t actually include the word amour or the verb aimer.

There’s so much more to love that goes beyond the word itself, so learning a few of these fabulously romantic phrases in French will take you far if you’re trying to win someone over. Many of these compliment specific body parts, so if you’re not super confident in your ability to talk about body parts in French, give our handy blog post a quick review.

FAQs about love in French

Do French people not say “I love you”?

Of course they do. Only very rarely. The French are known for being physically affectionate with their spouses in public, so why are they shy to profess their love for each other in words?

French culture can be very direct for many things. However, it can also be very roundabout for many others. Saying “I love you” to your spouse, partner, and even children is something that doesn’t happen nearly as often as you’d expect it to if you grew up in the United States.

Part of the reason why they have to take a circuitous route to arrive at the famous three words is because they don’t have a verb that strictly means “love.” Of course, as you know, the verb aimer can mean ‘love.’ But it can also mean ‘like.’

So, when you hear a French person say something like “J’aime le sport”, they’re not exaggerating by saying that they love sports. They simply mean that they like sports, which is the other meaning of the verb aimer.

So, French people tend to express love in alternative ways, like with small gestures and by using cute pet names to refer to their loved ones.

What does “J’adore” mean in French?

J’adore translates literally to “I adore.” However, in French, it’s really used more as a slight step-down from j’aime when you want to say that you like something.

For example, let’s say you really enjoy going to the movies, but you wouldn’t go as far as saying that you love cinema. In this case, you can say j’adore le cinéma. It’s sort of an intermediate level between j’aime bien le cinéma and j’aime le cinéma.

How do you reply to “Je t’aime” in French?

If the love is requited, you can respond with je t’aime aussi or moi aussi, je t’aime.

However, if you don’t love the person back, or are simply not ready to utter those words, we got you. Here are some ways you can respond when someone says je t’aime to you:

Now you’re ready to conquer love, in French!

And that’s a wrap! Now you’re familiar with well over a hundred ways to declare affection and adorationin French (141, to be exact!). From things like I love you very much in French, to more risky phrases like asking someone to marry you in French, you’re now ready to conquer all romantic endeavors!

We hope you found this blog helpful! If you’re a hopeless romantic, now you won’t be stuck wondering “how do you say I love you too in French?” Now you’ve got all the tools you need to navigate any romantic endeavors in French.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions about learning French or any other language. You can also check out our French blog for many more resources on learning French.

Thanks for reading through to the end! Berlitz vous aime!