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 it’s 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 “I love you” 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, “He loves me. He loves me not”? Well, in French there are five different stages of love in this game in French, from “Not at all” to “He’s crazy about you.”
You can view all of the French expressions by scrolling down, or use the links below if you’d like to jump to a certain section. You can learn these expressions and more in our Love deck on Lingvist!
- “I Love You” in French
- Terms of Endearment
- I Miss You
- Hugs and Kisses
- French Love Phrases
- Romantic French Phrases Poster – print and share!
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“I Love You” 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. Let’s look at a bunch of different phrases for “I love you” in French.
Je t’aime bien – I like you. Yes, it translates directly to “I love you well.”
Je t’aime – I love you. This can be used with your lover, as well as with friends and family.
Je suis amoureux/amoureuse de toi – I am in love with you. This should only be used with your lover.
Je t’aime beaucoup – You mean a lot to me. It doesn’t have to do with love: You would be sad if you heard this from your lover.
Je t’aime pour toujours – I love you forever.
Je t’aime chaque jour davantage – I love you more each day.
Je t’aime plus que le jour – I love you more than the day.
Je t’aime de toute mon âme – I love you with all of my soul.
Je t’adore – I adore you. In French, it means something more like “I like you very very much” and is used as something in between “Je t’aime” and “Je t’aime bien.”
Je t’aime passionnément – I love you passionately.
Je t’aime à la folie – I love you like crazy.
Je t’aime d’amour – I love you with true love.
J’ai le béguin – I have a crush.
Elle s’est amourachée de quelqu’un – She is stupidly in love with someone. Yes, in French there is a verb that means “to be stupidly in love,” though the French dictionary translates it as “to have a sudden, often temporary love.”
Terms of Endearment
Now that you know how to tell someone you love them, what do you call them? After you’ve 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 – my love Mon bébé – my baby Mon ange – my angel Ma chérie – my dear (feminine form) Mon chéri – my dear (masculine form) Ma puce – my flea (Fleas can be cute, right?) Ma caille – my quail Ma biche – 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! Let’s look at how you would say “I miss you” in French.
Tu me manques – translates to “I miss you,” but it literally means “You me miss” or “You are missed by me.” (Est-ce que) je te manque – (Do) you miss me?
And, of course, you can add modifiers at the end to express how much you really miss someone.
Tu me manques…
Tu me manques aussi – I miss you too. Toi aussi – Me too.
You can also reply:
beaucoup – a lot tellement – so much déjà – already grave – 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 – I can’t wait (am impatient) to see you. J’ai hâte que tu reviennes - I can’t wait (have haste) until you come back. J’ai hâte de te revoir – I can’t wait (have haste) to see you again.
Hugs & Kisses
You may want to translate “hugs and kisses” 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 aren’t so important.
You may get the urge to use the direct translation of “câlins et bisous,” but this is not used as a phrase in France. Instead, they focus more on kisses.
Bisous – Kiss. This is used for closing letters or emails, or for saying goodbye in French. Gros bisous – Large kiss. Bises – Kisses!
If you want to mention hugs, it will sound better using the verb “embrasser.”
Je t’embrasse – 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.
J’ai eu un coup de foudre – I experienced love at first sight (I had a bolt of lightning).
Est-ce que tu veux sortir avec moi – Would you like to go out with me?
J’aimerais t’inviter à dîner – I would love to invite you to dinner.
J’aimerais passer plus de temps avec toi – I would love to spend more time with you.
Tu es l’homme/la femme de mes rêves – You are the man/woman of my dreams.
Je suis folle/fou de toi – I am crazy about you.
Tu me rends dingue – You make me stupid.
Je t’ai dans la peau – I’ve got you under my skin (I have you in the skin). This isn’t love, but lust. It means you can’t stop thinking about someone in a lustful way.
Tu me rends tellement heureux/heureuse – You make me so happy.
Sans toi, je ne suis rien – Without you, I am nothing.
Je ne suis pas bien sans toi – 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.
If there is something more that you’d like to see here, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Twitter @lingvist so we can continue to add to this resource.
Romantic French Phrases Poster
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