How to Say (and Pronounce) I Love You in 10 Different Languages

The phrase “I Love You” is one of the most popular three word phrases in the English language. Whether it’s the first time or the thousandth time, saying I love you is a very special and meaningful thing. There may be times, however, when you want to do something extra special for your significant other, whether it is your anniversary, a birthday, or Valentine’s Day. Why not try saying or writing I love you in a different language. Your sweetheart will feel loved even more knowing you made an effort to learn something new just for him/her. Below are ways to say “I love you” in ten different languages. You can pick one or go the extra mile and learn all ten! Good luck!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Since French is the "language of love", we will start there. "I love you" in French is written and pronounced like this:
   
   French: Je t’aime.
   Pronounced: Zhuh tem.
   
   The J in Je sounds like the g in mirage. T'aime (Tem) rhymes with them.

2. Spanish: Te amo.
   Pronounced: Tay ahm-oh.
   
   Te amo is the more romantic version, as opposed to the more common Te quiero.

3. Italian : Ti amo.
   Pronounced: Tee-ah-mo.
   
   This sounds very similar to Spanish.

4. German : Ich liebe Dich.
   Pronounced: Ish leeba dish or Ick leeba dick.
   
   The Germans pronounce this differently in different parts of the country

5. Swedish: Jag älskar dig.
   Pronounced: Ya ellscar dey.

6. Russian : Ya lyublyu tebya.
   Pronounced: Ya loobloo tebya.
   
   Speaking Russian can be a little tricky for native English speakers.

7. Chinese (Mandarin) - Wǒ ài nǐ.
   Pronunciation: Wuh eye nee.
   
   The tones are very important when speaking Mandarin Chinese which has four pitched tones and a "toneless" tone. Different tones convey different meanings. Wǒ or "wuh" - the tone falls then rises, ài or "eye" - the tone falls and nǐ or "nee" - the tone falls then rises.

8. Irish Gaelic: Tá grá agam ort.
   Pronounced: Taw graw o-gum urt.
   
   Taw and Graw rhyme with law. The O in O-gum is short as in “not” and Urt rhymes with hurt.

9. Greek : S' ayapo (It is spoken as s' agapo. The third letter is the lower case gamma).
   Pronounced: sag-app-oh.

10. I couldn’t resist adding this one for all of the “Lord of The Rings” lovers (including myself). This is how you say "I love you" in Elvish.
    
    Elvish: Melin le.
    Pronounced: MEL-in leh.

Tips & Warnings

• I am not, nor do I claim to be an expert in any of the above languages. I'm just someone who likes to learn new things. Please use this information for fun, entertainment purposes.
• Many languages have several different ways to say I love you. I have chosen the most common or the one most related to romantic love when possible.

[ponchomeg]

on 6/27/2009 Very cool article. 5*

[lucindaroth]

on 3/27/2009 Cool article

[riyo]

on 2/12/2009 The person who put the Japanese one at the top is wrong. xD

It's usually condensed to AISHITERU, which is pronounced more like "eye-sh-teh-rue". Shi, alone, is actually more like "she", but is often slurred more into a very short "sh" sound. And it's all one word, so you say it together. =]

That's the most romantic, lovey-dovey way of saying it, I think, but it's definitely not the most common.

[anoukaimee]

on 2/8/2009 Japanese: "ai shite iru" (eye-****-ear-ooh lol)

[auraphx]

on 2/8/2009 Fun article. Thanks for this. :)