3 francs 6 sous

Afrikaans : Ek is lief vir jou
: Ek het jou lief
Albanian : Te dua
: Te dashuroj
: Ti je zemra ime
Alentejano : Gosto de ti, porra!
Alsacien (Elsass) : Ich hoan dich gear
Amharic (Aethio.) : Afekrishalehou
: Afekrischalehou
Amharic (Ethiopian) : Ewedishalehu (male/female to female)
: Ewedihalehu (male/female to male)
American Sign Language :
.~.
.~. |_| the hand sign pictured at left
|-| | |
| | _ _ |_| It is a sign made of combination of signs
|-|/ \/ \| | _ for the letters I, L, Y
| | || | | / /
| | || | |/ / I is the pinky pointing up, fingers in a fist
| ” ” / / L is the forefinger pointed upward, thumb out
|I Love You / Y is the pinky up, thumb pointing out
\ hand sign /
\ ___/\___/ ILY is usually signed with your right hand

Apache : Sheth she~n zho~n (nasalized vowels like
French, ‘~n’ as in French
’salon’)
Arabic (formal) : Ohiboke (male to female)
: Ohiboki (male to female)
: Ohibokoma (male or female to two males
or two females)
: Nohiboke (more than one male or females
to female)
: Nohiboka (male to male or female to male)
: Nohibokoma (male to male or female to two
males or two females)
: Nohibokom (male to male or female to more
than two males)
: Nohibokon (male to male or female to more
than two females)
Arabic (proper) : Ooheboki (male to female)
: Ooheboka (female to male)
Arabic : Ana behibak (female to male)
: Ana behibek (male to female)
: Ahebich (male to female)
: Ahebik (female to male)
: Ana ahebik
: Ib’n hebbak
: Ana ba-heb-bak
: Bahibak (female to male)
: Bahibik (male to female)
: Benhibak (more than one male or female to male)
: Benhibik (male to male or female to female)
: Benhibkom (male to male or female to more
than one male)
: Nhebuk (spoken to someone of importance)
Arabic (Umggs.) : Ana hebbek
Armenian : Yes kez si’rumem
Ashanti/Akan/Twi : Me dor wo
Assamese : Moi tomak bhal pau

Bangladeschi : Ami tomake walobashi
Basque : Maite zaitut
: Nere maitea (”My love.”)
Bassa : Mengweswe
Batak : Holong rohangku di ho
Bemba : Ndikufuna
Bengali : Aami tomaake bhaalo baashi
: Ami tomay bhalobashi
: Ami tomake bahlobashi
Berber : Lakh tirikh
Bicol : Namumutan ta ka
Bolivian Quechua : Qanta munani
Bosnian : Volim te
Braille : :..:| ..:| |..-.. .::”:.., :.:;
Brazilian/Portuguese : Eu te amo (pronounced ‘eiu chee amu’)
: Amo te
Bulgarian : Obicham te
: As te obeicham
: As te obicham
: Obozhavam te (”I love you very much”)
Burmese : Chit pa de

Cajun : Mi aime jou
Cambodian : Kh_nhaum soro_lahn nhee_ah
: Bon sro lanh oon
Canadian French : Sh’teme (spoken, sounds like this)
: Je t’aime (”I like you”)
: Je t’adore (”I love you”)
Catalan : T’estimo (Catalonian)
: T’estim (Mallorcan)
: T’estime (Valencian)
: T’estim molt (”I love you a lot”)
Cebuano : Gihigugma ko ikaw
Chamoru (or Chamorro) : Hu guaiya hao
Cherokee : Aya gvgeyu’i nihi
Cheyenne : Ne mohotatse
Chichewa : Ndimakukonda
Chickasaw : Chiholloli (first ‘i’ nasalized)
Chinese : Goa ai li (Amoy)
: Ngo oi ney (Cantonese)
: Wo oi ney ( ” )
: Ngai oi gnee (Hakka)
: Ngai on ni ( ” )
: Wa ai lu (Hokkien)
: Wo ai ni (Mandarin)
: Wo ie ni ( ” )
: Wuo ai nee ( ” )
: Wo ay ni ( ” )
: Wo ai ni (Putunghua)
: Ngo ai nong (Wu)
Corsican : Ti tengu cara (male to female)
: Ti tengu caru (female to male)
Creol : Mi aime jou
Croatian (familiar) : Ja te volim (used in proper speech)
: Volim te (used in common speech)
Croatian (formal) : Ja vas volim (used in proper speech)
: Volim vas (used in common speech)
: Ljubim te (in todays useage, “I kiss you”,
‘lj’ pronounced like ‘ll’ in
Spanish, one sound, ‘ly’ish)
Croatian (old) : Ljubim te (may still be found in poetry)
Czech : Miluji te (a downwards pointing arrowhead
on top of the ‘e’ in te, which is
pronounced ‘ye’)
: Miluju te! (colloquial form)
: Ma’m te (velmi) ra’d (male speaker, “I like
you (very much)”, often
used and prefered)
: Ma’m te (velmi) ra’da (female speaker)

Danish : Jeg elsker dig
Dusun : Siuhang oku dia
Dutch : Ik hou van je
: Ik hou van jou
: Ik bemin je (old fashioned)
: Ik bemin jou ( ” )
: Ik heb je lief ( ” )
: Ik ben verliefd op je (”I am in love with you”)
: Ik ben verliefd op jou ( ” )
: Ik houd erg veel van jou (”I love you very
: Ik houd erg veel van je much”)
: Ik vind je leuk (”I like you”)
: Ik vind je aardig ( ” )
: Ik vind je heel erg leuk (”I like you very
: Ik vind je heel aardig much”)
: Ik zie je graag
: Ik mag jou wel (”I like you”)
: Ik mag jou heel graag (”I like you very much”)
(the last two are more superficial, thus more
suitable for male to male)

Ecuador Quechua : Canda munani
English : I love you
: I adore you
: I love thee (used only in Christian context)
Esperanto : Mi amas vin
Estonian : Mina armastan sind
: Ma armastan sind
Ethiopian : Afgreki’

Farsi (old) : Tora dust mi daram
Farsi : Tora dost daram (”I love you”)
: Asheghetam
: Doostat daram (”I’m in love with you”)
: Man asheghetam (”I’m in love with you”)
Filipino : Mahal ka ta
: Iniibig kita
: Mahal kita
Finnish (formal) : Mina” rakastan sinua
: Rakastan sinua
: Mina” pida”n sinusta (”I like you”)
Finnish : (Ma”) rakastan sua
: (Ma”) tykka”a”n susta (”I like you”)
Flemish (Belgian Dutch) : Ik zie oe geerne
French : Je t’aime (”I love you”)
: Je t’adore (”I love you”, stronger meaning
between lovers)
: J’ t’aime bien (”I like you”, meant for friends
and family, not for lovers)
French (formal) : Je vous aime

Gaelic : Ta gra agam ort
: Moo graugh hoo
German (formal) : Ich liebe Sie (rarely used)
German : Ich liebe dich
: Ich hab dich lieb (not so classic and
conservative)
German dialects:
Bavarian (Bayrisch) : I moag di gern
(Bavaria/Bayern) : I mog di (right answer: “I di a”)
: I lieb di
Berlin dialect : Ick liebe dir (Old, very old)
(Berlinerisch) : Ick liebe Dich
Berner-Deutsch : Ig liebe di
Bochumer : Ich lieb Dich!
Franconian (Fra”nkisch): Du gfa”llsd mer fai
(Franconia/Franken) : Bisd scho mai gouds freggerla (already in a
relationship)
: Mid dier ma”cherd ich a amol (sexually touched,
ment as a compliment, not litterally)
(the above 3 entries really mean “I like you”,
a Franke would never say “I love you”)
Friesian (Friesisch) : Ik hou fan dei (sp?)
: Ik hald fan dei
Hessian (Hessisch) : Isch habb disch libb
Ostfriesisch : Ick heb di leev
Saarla”ndisch : Isch hann disch lieb
Saxon (Sa”chsisch) : Isch liebdsch
Swabian (Schwa”bisch) : ( ? )
Swiss German : Ch’ha di ga”rn
(Schweizerdeutsch)
Vorarlberg dialect : I stand total uf di
(Vorarlbergerisch)
Greek : S’ayapo (spoken “s’agapo”, 3rd letter is lower
case ‘gamma’)
: Eime eroteumenos mazi sou (”I’m in love with)
: Eime eroteumenos me ’sena(you”, male to female)
: Eime eroteumeni mazi sou (”I’m in love with)
: Eime eroteumeni me ’sena (you”, female to male)
: Se latrevo (”I adore you”)
: Se thelo (”I want you”, denotes sexual desire)
Greek (Arhea/Ancient) : Philo se
Greenlandic : Asavakit
Gronings : Ik hol van die
Guarani’ : Rohiyu (ro-hai’-hyu)
Gujrati : Hoon tane pyar karoochhoon.
: Hoon tuney chaoon chhoon (’n’ is nasal, not
pronounced)

Hausa : Ina sonki
Hawaiian : Aloha wau ia ‘oe
: Aloha wau ia ‘oe nui loa (”I love you
very much”)
Hebrew : Anee ohev otakh (male to female)
: Anee ohevet otkha (female to male)
: Anee ohev otkha (male to male)
: Anee ohevet otakh (female to female)
(’kh’ pronounced like
Spanish ‘j’, Dutch ‘g’, or similiar to
French ‘r’)
Hindi : Mai tumase pyar karata hun (male to female)
: Mai tumase pyar karati hun (female to male)
: Mai tumse pyar karta hoon
: Mai tumse peyar karta hnu
: Mai tumse pyar karta hoo
: Mai tujhe pyaar kartha hoo
: Mae tumko peyar kia
: Main tumse pyar karta hoon
: Main tumse prem karta hoon
: Main tuze pyar karta hoon (’n’ is nasal, not
pronounced)
Hopi : Nu’ umi unangwa’ta
Hungarian : Szeretlek
: Te’gedet szeretlek (”It’s you I love and
no one else”)
: Szeretlek te’ged (”It’s you I love, you know,
you”, a reinforcement)
(The above two entries are never heard in
a normal context.)

Ibaloi : Pip-piyan tana
: Pipiyan ta han shili (”I like/love you
very much”)
Icelandic : Eg elska thig (pronounced ‘yeg l-ska thig’)
Ilocano : Ay ayating ka
Indonesian : Saya cinta padamu (’Saya’, commonly used)
: Saya cinta kamu ( ” )
: Saya kasih saudari ( ” )
: Saja kasih saudari ( ” )
: Aku tjinta padamu (’Aku’, not often used)
: Aku cinta padamu ( ” )
: Aku cinta kamu ( ” )
Interglossa : Mi esthe philo tu
Italian : Ti amo (relationship/lover/spouse)
: Ti voglio bene (between friends)
: Ti voglio (strong sexual meaning, “I want
you”, refering to other person’s
body)
Irish : Taim i’ ngra leat
Irish/Gaelic : t’a gr’a agam dhuit

Japanese : Kimi o ai shiteru
: Aishiteru
: Chuu shiteyo
: Ora omee no koto ga suki da
: Ore wa omae ga suki da
: Suitonnen
: Sukiyanen
: Sukiyo
: Watashi wa anata ga suki desu
: Watashi wa anata wo aishithe imasu
: Watashi wa anata o aishitemasu
: A-i-shi-te ma-su
: Watakushi-wa anata-wo ai shimasu
: Suki desu (used at the first time, like for a
start, when you are not yet real lovers)
Javanese : Kulo tresno

Kankana : Laylaydek sik a
Kannada : Naanu ninnanu preethisuthene
: Naanu ninnanu mohisuthene
Kikongo : Mono ke zola nge (mono ke’ zola nge’)
Kiswahili : Nakupenda
: Nakupenda wewe
: Nakupenda malaika (”I love you, (my) angel”)
Klingon : bangwI’ SoH (”You are my beloved”)
: qamuSHa’ (”I love you”)
: qamuSHa’qu’ (”I love you very much”)
: qaparHa’ (”I like you”)
: qaparHa’qu’ (”I like you very much!”)
(words are often unnecessary as the thought
is most often conveyed nonverbally with
special growlings)
Korean : (Tangsinul) Saranghae (”I love you”)
: (Tangsinul) Saranghaeyo (with a little respect)
: (Tangsinul) Saranghapnida ( ” )
: Nanun dangsineul saranghapnida ( ” )
: Tangsinul
: Tangsinul sarang ha yo (”I love you, dear”)
: Dangsinul saranghee yo
: Saranghee
: Nanun dangsineul joahapnida (”I like you”)
: Nanun dangsineul mucheog joahapnida (”I like
very much”)
: Nanun dangsineul mucheog saranghapnida (”I love
you very much”)
: Nanun gdaega joa (”I like him” or “I like her”)
: Nanun gdaereul saranghapnida (”I love him” or
“I love her”)
: Gdaereul hjanghan naemaeum alji (”You know how
much I love him/her”)
: Nanun neoreul saranghanda
: Joahaeyo (”I like you”)
: Saranghaeyo (more formal)
: Saranghapanida (more respectful)
: Norul sarang hae (male to female in casual
relationship)
: Tangshini choayo (”I like you, in a romantic
way”)
Kpele : I walikana
Kurdish : Ez te hezdikhem

Lao : Khoi hak jao
: Khoi mak jao lai (”I love you very much”)
: Khoi hak jao lai (”I like you very much”)
: Khoi mak jao (This means “I prefer you”,
but is used for “I love you”.)
Lappish : Mon rahkistan tonu
Latin : Te amo
: Vos amo
Latin (old) : (Ego) Amo te (’Ego’, for emphasis)
Latvian : Es tevi milu (pronounced ‘es tevy meelu’)
(’i in ‘milu’ has a line over it,
a ‘long i’)
: Es milu tevi (less common)
Lebanese : Bahibak
Lingala : Nalingi yo
Lisbon lingo : Gramo-te bue’, chavalinha!
Lithuanian : Tave myliu (Ta-ve mee-lyu)
: Ash mir lutavah
Lojban : Mi do prami
Luo : Aheri
Luxembourgish : Ech hun dech ga”r

Maa : Ilolenge
Macedonian : Te sakam (a little stronger than “I like you”)
: Te ljubam (”I really love you”)
: Jas te sakam (’j’ sounds like ‘y’ in May)
: Pozdrav (”Greetings”)
Madrid lingo : Me molas, Tronca!
Maiese : Wa wa
Malay/Indonesian : Saya cintakan kamu (grammatically correct)
: Saya cinta akan kamu(expanded version of above)
: Saya sayangkan kamu (grammatically correct)
: Saya sayang akan kamu (expanded version)
: Aku cinta pada mu (most direct translation)
: Saya cintakan awak
: Aku cinta pada kau
: Saya cinta pada mu (best, most commonly used)
: Saya sayangkan engkau (’engkau’ often shortened
to ‘kau’, ‘engkau’ is informal form and should
only be used if you know the person _really_
well)
: Saya sayang pada mu
: Aku sayangkan engkau
: Saya sayang pada mu
: Aku menyintai mu
: Aku menyayangi mu
: Aku kasih pada mu
: Aku jatuh cinta pada mu
Malayalam : Ngan ninne snaehikkunnu
: Njyaan ninne’ preetikyunnu
: Njyaan ninne’ mohikyunnu
Maltese : Jien inhobbok
Marathi : Mi tuzya var prem karato
: Me tujhashi prem karto (male to female)
: Me tujhashi prem karte (female to male)
Marshallese : Yokwe yuk (sort of multi-purpose, like Aloha,
literally “Love to you, my friend”)
Mohawk : Konoronhkwa
Mokilese : Ngoah mweoku kaua
Moroccan : Kanbhik (both mean the same, but spoken)
: Kanhebek (in different cities)

Navaho : Ayor anosh’ni
Ndebele : Niyakutanda
Norwegian : Jeg elsker deg (Bokmaal)
: Eg elskar deg (Nynorsk)
: Jeg elsker deg (Riksmaal: outdated, formerly
used by upper-class and
conservative people)
Nyanja : Ninatemba

Op : Op lopveop yopuop
Osetian : Aez dae warzyn

Pakistani : Mujhe tumse muhabbat hai
: Muje se mu habbat hai
Papiamento : Mi ta stima’bo
Pig Latin : Ie ovele ouye
Pilipino : Mahal kita
: Iniibig kita
Polish : Kocham cie
: Kocham ciebie
: Ja cie kocham (slang, not commonly used)
Portuguese/Brazilian : Eu te amo (pronounced ‘eiu chee amu’)
: Amo te
Pulaar : Mbe de yid ma (mbe: d: yidh ma)
(Pronounced as two words,
“Mbe deyidma”. ‘b’ and second
‘d’ have bars through the stems
indicating affrication, the ‘:’
indicate minute pauses)
Punjabi : Main tainu pyar karna
: Mai taunu pyar karda
: Mein nu terey na^l piyaar ay (pronounced:
“meinu therei naal piya’rei”, th as in bath)
‘ = stressed syllable
Pushto : Mung jane’ (pronounced: “puxto: mu’ng jane’”)

Quenya : Tye-mela’ne

Raetoromanisch : Te amo
Romanian : Te iubesc
: Te ador (stronger)
Russian : Ya vas lyublyu (old fashioned)
: Ya tyebya lyublyu (best)
: Ya lyublyu vas (old fashioned)
: Ya lyublyu tyebya

Samoan : Ou te alofa outou
: Ou te alofa ia te oe
: Talo’fa ia te oe (”Hello, from me to you”)
Sanskrit : Anurag (a higher love, like the love of music
or art)
Scot-Gaelic : Tha gradh agam ort
Serbian (formal) : Ja vas volim (used in proper speech)
: Volim vas (used in common speech)
: Ljubim te (in todays useage, “I kiss you”,
‘lj’ pronounced like ‘ll’ in
Spanish, one sound, ‘ly’ish)
Serbian (familiar) : Ja te volim (used in proper speech)
: Volim te (used in common speech)
Serbian (old) : Ljubim te (may still be found in poetry)
Serbocroatian : Volim te
: Ljubim te
: Ja te volim (’j’ sounds like ‘y’ in May)
Shona : Ndinokuda
Sinhala : Mama oya’ta a’darei
Sioux : Techihhila
Slovak : Lubim ta
Slovene : Ljubim te
Spanish : Te amo
: Te quiero
: Te adoro (”I adore you”)
: Te deseo (”I desire you”)
: Me antojis (”I crave you”)
Srilankan : Mama oyata arderyi
Swahili : Nakupenda
: Naku penda (followed by the person’s name)
: Ninikupenda
: Dholu’o
Swedish : Jag a”lskar dig (’dig’ pronounced like ‘day’)
Syrian/Lebanese : Bhebbek (male to female)
: Bhebbak (female to male)

Tagalog : Mahal kita
Tahitian : Ua here au ia oe
: Ua here vau ia oe
Tamil : Naan unnai kadalikiren
: Nan unnai kathalikaren
: Ni yaanai kaadli karen (”You love me”)
: N^an unnaki kathalikkinren (”I love you”)
: Nam vi’rmberem
Telugu : Ninnu premistunnanu
: Neenu ninnu pra’mistu’nnanu
: Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
Thai (formal) : Phom rak khun (male to female)
: Phom ruk koon ( ” )
: Ch’an rak khun (female to male)
: Chun ruk koon ( ” )
Thai : Khao raak thoe (affectionate, sweet, loving)
Tswana : Dumela
Tunisian : Ha eh bak
Turkish (formal) : Sizi seviyorum
Turkish : Seni seviyorum
: Seni begeniyorum (”I adore you”)
(g has a bar on it)
Twi : Me dowapaa

Ukrainian : Ya tebe kokhayu
: Ja tebe kokhaju (real true love)
: Ja vas kokhaju
: Ja pokokhav tebe
: Ja pokokhav vas
Urdu : Main tumse muhabbat karta hoon
: Mujhe tumse mohabbat hai
: Mujge tumae mahabbat hai
: Kam prem kartahai
: Mujhe tum se piyaar hai (pronounced:
“mujhei’ Oo’m se’ piya’r ha’e”)
: Mujhe tum se muhabbat hai (pronounced:
“mujhe’i Oo’m se’ mohub:u’th ha’e”, th as
in bath)
‘ = stressed syllable, Oo’ = o like in bold

Vai : Na lia
Vdrmldndska : Du dr gvrgo te mdg
Vietnamese : Anh ye^u em (male to female)
: Em ye^u anh (female to male)
: Toi yeu em
Volapa”k : La”fob oli
Vulcan : Wani ra yana ro aisha

Welsh : Rwy’n dy garu di
: Yr wyf i yn dy garu di (chwi)
Wolof : Da ma la nope
: Da ma la nop (da ma’lanop)

Yiddish : Ikh hob dikh lib
: Ich libe dich
: Ich han dich lib
: Kh’hob dikh lib
: Kh’ob dikh holt
: Ikh bin in dir farlibt
Yucatec Maya : ‘in k’aatech (the love of lovers)
: ‘in yabitmech (the love of family, which
lovers can also feel; it
indicates more a desire to
spoil and protect the other
person)
Yugoslavian : Ja te volim

Zazi : Ezhele hezdege (sp?)
Zulu : Mena tanda wena
: Ngiyakuthanda!
Zuni : Tom ho’ ichema

Thanks to Silvio