Say I Love You in 100 Different Languages

by | Dec 9, 2017

how to start a conversation when travelling solo
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Last updated on March 3rd, 2024

These three little words can help you as you travel the world

by Evelyn Hannon, Founder, JourneyWoman

I love you. Three little words that are spoken with great pleasure all over the world. JourneyWoman recently checked our dictionary and thesaurus for the many meanings of love. Just like the Eskimos who have many different words to describe the different kinds of snow they experience, we found that we have many different words to describe the many assorted ways we can express love.

Love can mean (noun) fondness, liking, attachment, affection, friendliness, amity, inclination, cordiality, geniality, regard, devotion, warmth, adoration, tenderness, endearment, passion, desire, amour, infatuation, craving, longing, yearning, coveting, ardour, rapture, crush, flame (verb) like, adore, adulate, worship, cherish, yearn for, hold dear, pine for, enjoy, like, delight in, savour, fancy, admire, caress, embrace, kiss, cuddle, hug, pamper.

Who knows? There could be a time you might need these three little words as you travel the world.

‘Love is the same as like except you feel sexier’

(Judith Viorst, Author)

Afrikaans:  Ek he jou lief

Albanian:  Te dua

Arabic:  Ana behibak (to male)

Arabic:  Ana behibek (to female)

Armenian:  Yes kex sirumem

Bambara: M’bi fe

Bengali: Ami tomake bhalobashi
(pronounced: Amee toe-ma-kee bhalo-bashee)

Belarusian: Ya tabe kahayu

Bisaya: Nahigugma ako kanimo

Bulgarian: Obicham te

Cambodian: Soro lahn nhee ah

Catalan: T’estimo

Cherokee: Tsi ge yu i

Cheyenne: Ne mohotatse

Chichewa: Ndimakukonda

Chinese
Cantonese: Ngo oiy ney a

Mandarin: Wo ai ni

Comanche: U kamakutu nu

Corsican: Ti tengu caru (to male)

Cree: Kisakihitin

Creole: Mi aime jou

Croatian: Volim te

Czech: Miluji te

Danish: Jeg Elsker Dig

Dutch: Ik hou van jou

Elvish: Amin mela lle
(from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

English: I love you

Esperanto: Mi amas vin

Estonian: Ma armastan sind

Ethiopian: Afgreki’

Faroese: Eg elski teg

Farsi: Doset daram

Filipino: Mahal kita

Finnish: Mina rakastan sinua

French: Je t’aime, Je t’adore

Frisian: Ik hald fan dy

Gaelic: Ta gra agam ort

Georgian: Mikvarhar

German: Ich liebe dich

Greek: S’agapo

Gujarati: Hoo thunay prem karoo choo

Hiligaynon: Palangga ko ikaw

Hawaiian: Aloha Au Ia`oe

Hebrew
To female: “ani ohev otach” (said by male)
“ohevet Otach” (said by female)

To male: “ani ohev otcha” (said by male)
“Ohevet ot’cha” (said by female)

Hiligaynon: Guina higugma ko ikaw

Hindi: Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae

Hmong: Kuv hlub koj

Hopi: Nu’ umi unangwa’ta

Hungarian: Szeretlek

Icelandic: Eg elska tig

Ilonggo: Palangga ko ikaw

Indonesian: Saya cinta padamu

Inuit: Negligevapse

Irish: Taim i’ ngra leat

Italian: Ti amo

Japanese: Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu

Kannada: Naanu ninna preetisuttene

Kapampangan: Kaluguran daka

Kiswahili: Nakupenda

Konkani: Tu magel moga cho

Korean: Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida

Latin: Te amo

Latvian: Es tevi miilu

Lebanese: Bahibak

Lithuanian: Tave myliu

Luxembourgeois: Ech hun dech gaer

Macedonian: Te Sakam

Malay: Saya cintakan mu /
Aku cinta padamu

Malayalam: Njan Ninne Premikunnu

Maltese: Inhobbok

Marathi: Me tula prem karto

Mohawk: Kanbhik

Moroccan: Ana moajaba bik

Nahuatl: Ni mits neki

Navaho: Ayor anosh’ni

Ndebele: Niyakutanda

Norwegian
Bokmaal: Jeg elsker deg

Nyonrsk: Eg elskar deg

Pandacan: Syota na kita!!

Pangasinan: Inaru Taka

Papiamento: Mi ta stimabo

Persian: Doo-set daaram

Pig Latin: Iay ovlay ouyay

Polish: Kocham Ciebie

Portuguese: Eu te amo

Romanian: Te iubesc

Russian: Ya tebya liubliu

Scot Gaelic: Tha gra\dh agam ort

Serbian: Volim te

Setswana: Ke a go rata

Sign Language: „,/ (represents position of fingers when signing ‘I Love You’)

Sindhi: Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan

Sioux: Techihhila

Slovak: Lu`bim ta

Slovenian: Ljubim te

Spanish: Te quiero / Te amo

Swahili: Ninapenda wewe

Swedish: Jag alskar dig

Swiss-German: Ich lieb Di

Surinam: Mi lobi joe

Tagalog: Mahal kita

Taiwanese: Wa ga ei li

Tahitian: Ua Here Vau Ia Oe

Tamil: Nan unnai kathalikaraen

Telugu: Nenu ninnu premistunnanu

Thai: Phom rak khun

Tunisian: Ha eh bak

Turkish: Seni Seviyorum

Ukrainian: Ya tebe kahayu

Urdu: mai aap say pyaar karta hoo

Vietnamese: To female – Anh ye^u em

Welsh: ‘Rwy’n dy garu di

Yiddish: Ikh hob dikh

Yoruba: Mo ni fe

Zazi: Ezhele hezdege

Zuni: Tom ho’ ichema

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Evelyn started Journeywoman in 1994, and unknowingly became the world's first female travel blogger. She inspired a sisterhood of women, a grassroots movement, to inspire women to travel safely and well, and to connect women travellers around the world. She passed away in 2019, but her legacy lives on.

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