Want to tell the person you love how you feel? Learn how to say ‘I love you’ in various languages from around the world and how to pronounce them correctly!
According to The Beatles, “All you need is love”, they weren’t wrong! When you feel loved, it gives you the drive and reassurance needed to conquer whatever life throws at you. When someone loves you and believes in your, it boosts your confidence allowing you to take on challenging tasks such as learning a language, which is why I took this photo (see above) of me standing in front of Le mur de je t’aime (literally, The Wall of “I Love You’) in Paris. This beautiful mural features the phrase ‘I Love You’ written in 250 different languages and dialects.
Love is awesome! So awesome in fact, that there’s even a day where we celebrate it – St. Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine’s Day is one of the world’s most popular holidays, celebrated by millions of people across the globe and a wonderful opportunity to watch a romantic Italian film. The true history of the holiday is shrouded in mystery, and what we know about it today is mostly legends and tales.
According to one such legend, Valentine was a Christian priest who married young Roman soldiers against the Emperor’s orders to do so. According to another, he was persecuted for practising Christianity in pagan Rome. Valentine was beheaded on February 14 and he died as a Christian martyr. Later, the Christian church named Valentine a saint, and February 14 became the day to commemorate the saint by celebrating love and kindness. The legend of St. Valentine may be sad, but Valentine’s Day is a beautiful holiday – so let’s celebrate it by celebrating love.
Here’s how to say ‘I love you’ in a variety of languages from all around the world, plus how to pronounce them! (Missing a language? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it in!)
Abkhaz: сара yара бзиа узбoит (to a man), сара барa бзиа бызбoит (to a woman)
Where to say it: Abkhazia, Turkey
Afrikaans: Ek is lief vir jou
How to say it:
Where to say it: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe
Akan/Twi: Me dor wo
How to say it:
Where to say it: Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire
Amharic: እወድሃለሁ (to a man), እወድሻለሁ (to a woman)
Transliteration: e’wedhalew, e’wedshalew
Where to say it: Ethiopia
Arabic: انا احبك
How to say it:
Transliteration: ana ohebak
Where to say it: North Africa, Western Asia (Middle East), East Africa
Armenian: Ես քեզ սիրում եմ
How to say it:
Transliteration: yes k’yez sirum yem
Where to say it: Armenia, Georgia, Russia
Assamese: মই তোমাক ভাল পাওঁ
Transliteration: moi tumak bhaal paaun
Where to say it: Assam (India)
Azerbaijani: mən səni sevirəm
Where to say it: Azerbaijan and Northern Iran
Balochi: tu mana doost biyeh
Where to say it: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, India
Bambara: m’bi fe
Where to say it: Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana
Basque: maite zaitut
How to say it:
Where to say it: Northern Spain
Belarusian: я кахаю цябе
Transliteration: ja kachaju ciabie
Where to say it: Belarus
Bengali: আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি
How to say it:
Transliteration: āmi tōmāẏa bhālōbāsi
Where to say it: Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), Tripura (India), Assam (India)
Bhojpuri: hum tohse pyaar kareni
Where to say it: Bihar (India), Terai (Nepal)
Bulgarian: обичам те
How to say it:
Transliteration: obicham te
Where to say it: Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Moldova, Serbia
Brahui: nehton merve kewa, kane nehton merve arre
Where to say it: the central part of Balochistan Province in Pakistan, in parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan
Cantonese: 我愛你
How to say it:
Transliteration: ngo ngoi nei
Where to say it: Guangdong (Canton), southern Guangxi (southern China), Hong Kong, Macau
Catalan: t’estimo
How to say it:
Where to say it: Spain, France, Andorra and Italy
Cebuano: gihigugma tika
How to say it:
Where to say it: Central and Southern Philippines
Chamorro: hu guiaya hao
How to say it:
Where to say it: Guam, the Marianas Islands.
Chewa: ndimakukondani
Where to say it: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Cheyenne: nemehotaste
Where to say it: the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana
Chichewa: ndimakukonda, ndimakukondani
Where to say it: Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Czech: miluji tě
How to say it:
Where to say it: Czech Republic
Danish: Jeg elsker dig
How to say it:
Where to say it: Denmark
Dogri: minjo tere naal pyar hega
Where to say it: Jammu and Kashmir (India)
Dutch: ik hou van je
How to say it:
Where to say it: Belgium (Flanders, Brussels), Netherlands, Suriname
Estonian: ma armastan sind
How to say it:
Where to say it: Estonia
English: I love you
How to say it:
Where to say it: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines
Esperanto: mi amas vin
How to say it:
Where to say it: Worldwide with the majority of speakers in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, United States, Poland, Italy, Germany and France.
Faroese: eg elski teg
How to say it:
Where to say it: Faroe Islands
Finnish: minä rakastan sinua
How to say it:
Where to say it: Finland
French: je t’aime
How to say it:
Where to say it: Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, French Caribbean, French Polynesia, various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Fula: mi yidi ma
Where to say it: West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan
Georgian: მიყვარხარ
How to say it:
Transliteration: miq’varkhar
Where to say it: Georgia, northern Turkey, Azerbaijan
German: ich liebe dich
How to say it:
Where to say it: Austria, Belgium (Eupen-Malmedy), Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, South Tirol (in Italy)
Greek: Σ΄αγαπώ
How to say it:
Transliteration: se agapo
Where to say it: Greece, Cyprus, Albania
Gujarati: હું તને પ્રેમ કરું છુ
How to say it:
Transliteration: huṁ tanē prēma karuṁ chu
Where to say it: Gujarat (India)
Haitian Creole: mwen renmen ou
How to say it:
Where to say it: Haiti
Hausa: ina son ki (to a female), ina son ka (to a male)
How to say it:
Where to say it: Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon
Hebrew: אני אוהב אותך (a man to a woman), אני אוהבת אותך (a woman to a man), אני אוהב אותך (a man to a man), אני אוהבת אותך (a woman to a woman)
How to say it: /
Transliteration: ani ohev otach, ani ohevet otcha, ani ohev otcha, ani ohevet otach
Where to say it: Israel
Hiligaynon: palangga ko ikaw, guina higugma ko ikaw
How to say it:
Where to say it: the Philippines
Hindi: मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ
How to say it:
Transliteration: main tumase pyaar karata hoon
Where to say it: India, Fiji, Nepal
Hmong: kuv hlub koj
How to say it:
Where to say it: southern China, northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand
Hungarian: szeretlek
How to say it:
Where to say it: Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia
Icelandic: ég elska þig
How to say it:
Transliteration: jeg ehlskah thig
Where to say it: Iceland
Igbo: a hụrụ m gị n’anya
How to say it:
Where to say it: Nigeria
Ilokano: ay-ayaten ka
How to say it:
Where to say it: the Philippines
Inuktitut: ᓇᒡᓕᒋᕙᒋᑦ
Transliteration: nagligivaget
Where to say it: Canadian Arctic
Irish Gaelic: tá mé i ngrá leat
How to say it:
Transliteration: taw may i ngraw lat
Where to say it: Ireland
Italian: ti amo
How to say it:
Where to say it: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino
There are plenty of ways Italians express how they feel, see my full guide on how to say ‘I love you’ in Italian.
Japanese: わたしは、あなたを愛しています
How to say it:
Transliteration: watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu
Where to say it: Japan
Related: 69 Wonderful Japanese Expressions That Will Brighten Your Day
Javanese: aku tresna sampeyan
Where to say it: Java (Indonesia)
Kannada: ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ
How to say it:
Transliteration: nānu ninnannu prītisuttēne
Where to say it: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (India)
Kazakh: мен сені жақсы көремін
Transliteration: men seni jaqsı köremin
Where to say it: Kazakhstan, the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in China
Kurdish: ez ji te hez dikim
Where to say it: “Kurdistan”, northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria
Kinyarwanda: ndagukunda
Where to say it: Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania
Kirundi: ndagukunda
Where to say it: Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo-Kinshasa
Khasi: Nga ieid iaphi
Where to say it: Meghalaya state in India
Khmer: ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់អ្នក
How to say it:
Transliteration: khnhom sralanh anak
Where to say it: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
Konkani: hav tukka mog karta
Where to say it: Goa (india)
Korean: 사랑해
How to say it:
Transliteration: saranghae
Where to say it: North Korea, South Korea
Kyrgyz: мен сени сүйөм
How to say it:
Transliteration: men seni süyöm
Where to say it: Kyrgyzstan, the Pamir Mountains
Latvian: es Tevi mīlu
How to say it:
Where to say it: Latvia
Lithuanian: aš tave myliu
How to say it:
Where to say it: Lithuania
Luxembourgish: ech hunn dech gär
How to say it:
Where to say it: Luxembourg
Madurese: kula tresna / panjengan
Where to say it: Madura, Java (Indonesia)
Macedonian: те сакам
How to say it:
Transliteration: te sakam
Where to say it: Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Albania
Maithili: हम अहाँ स प्रेम करेछी
Transliteration: hawm ahāṃ se prem karechi
Where to say it: Bihar (India), Nepal
Magahi: हम तोरा से प्यार करऽऽ हियो।
Transliteration: ham tora se pyar kari hio
Where to say it: Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India
Malagasy: tiako ianao
How to say it:
Where to say it: Madagascar
Maltese: Jien inħobbok
How to say it:
Where to say it: Malta
Malay/Indonesian: saya sayang awak
Where to say it: Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore
Malayalam: ഞാൻ നിന്നെ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നു
Transliteration: ñān ninne snēhikkunnu
Where to say it: Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé (India)
Manipuri/Meitei: eina nang nungshi
How to say it:
Where to say it: North East India, Bangladesh, Burma
Mandarin: 我爱你
How to say it:
Transliteration: Wǒ ài nǐ
Where to say it: China, Taiwan, Singapore
Maori: Kei te aroha au ki a koe
How to say it:
Where to say it: New Zealand, the Cook Islands
Marathi: मी तुझ्यावर प्रेम करतो
Transliteration: mī tujhyāvara prēma karatō
Where to say it: Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (India)
Marwari: main tanne pyaar karoon
Where to say it: Rajasthan (India and Pakistan)
Minnan hua: wǒ ài rǔ
Where to say it: Fujian, eastern part of Guandong (southeastern China), Hainan (southern China), Taiwan, Malaysia
Mongolian: би чамд/(танд) хайртай
How to say it:
Transliteration: bi chamd/tand khairtai
Where to say it: Mongolia, Xinjiang, the provinces of Qinghai and Gansu in China
Nauruan: nga ebonu
Where to say it: Nauru
Nepali: म तिमीलाई माया गर्छु
How to say it:
Transliteration: ma timīlā’ī māyā garchu
Where to say it: Nepal and neighbouring areas of India, Bhutan, Brunei, Myanmar
Norwegian: jeg elsker deg (Bokmål) / eg elskar deg (Nynorsk)
How to say it: /
Where to say it: Norway
Northern Sami / North Sami: Mun ráhkistan du
Where to say it: Northern Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Oriya: ମୁଁ ତୁମକୁ ଭଲ ପାଏ।
Transliteration: mu tumaku bhala paye
Where to say it: Odisha (India)
Oromo: sin jaalladha
Where to say it: Ethiopia, Kenya, parts of Somalia and Egypt
Ossetian: æз дæ уарзын
How to say it:
Transliteration: äz dä uarzyn
Where to say it: the republic of North Ossetia–Alania (the Russian Federation)
Palauan: a Kultoir er Kau
Where to say it: Palau
Pashto: زه تاسو سره مینه لرم
How to say it:
Transliteration: za taso sara meena laram
Where to say it: Afghanistan, Pakistan
Persian/Farsi: دوست دارم
How to say it:
Transliteration: dooset daram
Where to say it: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan
Polish: kocham cię
How to say it:
Transliteration: kohum tzie
Where to say it: Poland, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Belarus, western Ukraine, Lithuania
Portuguese: eu te amo
How to say it:
Where to say it: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste
Punjabi: ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ
How to say it:
Transliteration: maiṁ tuhānū pi’āra karadā hāṁ
Where to say it: Punjab region (India, Pakistan)
Quechua: kuyayki
Where to say it: Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina
Romanian: te iubesc
How to say it:
Where to say it: Romania, Moldova
Russian: я люблю тебя
How to say it:
Transliteration: ya lyublyu tebya
Where to say it: Russia, former Republics of the Soviet Union, Mongolia
Santali: ing aming sibilama
Where to say it: the east-central Indian states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa
Saraiki: mẽ tenū̃ piār kardā hā̃
Where to say it: south-western part of the province of Punjab, Pakistan
Sindhi: مان تو سان پيار ڪيان ٿو (Utradi dialect), آئون تو سان پيار ڪيان ٿو (Larri dialect)
Transliteration: maan to san pyar kyan tho, aon to san pyar kyan tho
Where to say it: Sindh (Pakistan and neighboring areas in India)
Serbo-Croatian: volim te
How to say it:
Where to say it: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo
Sinhalese: මම ඔයාට ආදරෙයි
Transliteration: mama oyāṭa ādareyi
Where to say it: Sri Lanka
Shona: ndinokuda
How to say it:
Where to say it: Zimbabwe
Slovenian: ljubim te
How to say it:
Where to say it: Slovenia, Italy, Austria
Sotho: kea u rata
Where to say it: South Africa, Zimbabwe
Somali: waan kuje elahay
How to say it:
Where to say it: Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Yemen, Eritrea
Spanish: te amo, te quiero
How to say it: /
Where to say it: Hispanic America, Spain, United States, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, Pacific islands
Sundanese: abdi bogoh ka anjeun
How to say it:
Where to say it: Java (Indonesia)
Swahili: nakupenda
How to say it:
Where to say it: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Swedish: jag älskar dig
How to say it:
Where to say it: Sweden, Finland
Tagalog: Mahal kita
How to say it:
Where to say it: Manila and Northern Philippines
Tamil: நான் உன்னைக் காதலிக்கிறேன்
How to say it:
Transliteration: nāṉ uṉṉai kātalikkiṟēṉ
Where to say it: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka (India), Puducherry (India), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius
Telugu: నేను నిన్ను ప్రేమిస్తున్నాను
Transliteration: nēnu ninnu prēmistunnānu
Where to say it: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (India)
Thai: ฉันรักเธอ
How to say it:
Transliteration: chan rak ter
Where to say it: Thailand
Tigrinya: ይፈትወካ`የ (said to a man), ይፈትወኪ’የ (said to a woman)
Transliteration: yfetwekaye, yfetwekiye
Where to say it: Eritrea, Ethiopia
Turkmen: men seni söýýärin
How to say it:
Where to say it: Turkmenistan, in parts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Tswana: ke a go rata
How to say it:
Where to say it: Botswana, South Africa
Turkish: seni seviyorum
How to say it:
Where to say it: Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria
Ukrainian: я тебе люблю
How to say it:
Transliteration: ya tebe lyublyu
Where to say it: Ukraine
Urdu: میں آپسے پیار کرتا ہو (said by a man), میں آپسے پیار کرتی ہو (said by a woman)
How to say it:
Transliteration: main tum se pyaar karta hu, main tum se pyaar karti hu
Where to say it: India, Pakistan
Uyghur: مەن سىزنى سۆيۈمەن
Transliteration: män sızni söyümän
Where to say it: Xinjiang (Western China)
Uzbek: men seni sevaman
How to say it:
Where to say it: Uzbekistan
Vietnamese: anh yêu em (a man to a woman), em yêu anh (a woman to a man)
How to say it: /
Where to say it: Vietnam
Welsh: rwy’n dy garu di
How to say it:
Where to say it: Wales
Wu (Shanghainese): 我爱侬
How to say it:
Transliteration: ngu eh nóng
Where to say it: Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu (eastern China)
Xhosa: ndiyakuthanda
How to say it:
Where to say it: South Africa
Yoruba: mo nifẹ ẹ
How to say it:
Where to say it: Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Zulu: ngiyakuthanda
How to say it:
Where to say it: South Africa
Over to you!
Which one of these phrases sounds the most beautiful to you? What other languages would you like me to add to this list? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll add them to the list!
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