It’s Valentine’s Day once again and, just in case you’re bored of saying the same old three words in English, we’ve got some other options to help you mix it up. Today we’re looking at how to say “I love you” in some of the most widely spoken and romantic languages in the world.
So why not try out your language skills and see how many ways you can tell that special someone you love them?
French: Je t’aime
Considered by many as the language of love, it’s hard to think of a more romantic way to show your feelings than speaking a little bit of French. Spoken in more than 29 countries around the world, French is as practical as it is alluring. Just make sure you get that pronunciation spot on to really make those hearts flutter.
Spanish: Te amo/te quiero
Spanish is a romance language by definition (as with most of the ones we’re looking at today) and you can hear the passion in every word. The thing is most direct translations and plenty of songs will tell you that “te amo” is “I love you” in Spanish but “te quiero” is the more common and versatile choice.
Chinese: ??? (Wo ai ni)
Let’s take a break from the romantic languages for a moment to cover the most widely spoken native language, in terms of people. More specifically, “wo ai ni” is Chinese Mandarin for “I love you” and there’s nothing lost in translation with this one.
Portuguese: Eu te amo
Getting back to the romantics, roughly 215 million people around the world declare their love in the classic language of Portuguese. As with many things in Portuguese, the written text looks a lot like its Spanish equivalent, but the pronunciation is quite different – more like “eyu chi amo”.
Arabic: ??? ???? (Ana Behibak/ana behabek)
Of all the non-Romanic writing systems Arabic has got to be one of the most captivating. Like many languages around the world, how you address people in Arabic changes the way you say a sentence. When a woman tells a man that they love them in Arabic she would say “ana behibak” while a man saying the same to a woman would say “ana behibek. It’s a subtle change but one that makes a huge difference when you’re speaking in Arabic.
Italian: Ti amo
Of course, we couldn’t write a list of romantic languages to express your love without a mention for Italian. Restaurants across the country will be serving pasta and other Italian delicacies over candlelight tonight and that sounds like the perfect setting for saying “ti amo” – or “I love you” in Italian.
Sadly, we can’t run through all the languages in the world but we’ve specifically chosen some of the most widely spoken languages today to cover good ground. Not only that but we’ve also selected languages with a reputation for romance and passion – so happy Valentine’s Day everyone!