I Love You in Different Languages: 100 Ways

One of the coolest things about traveling the world is learning a little bit of the local language.

It’s amazing how much you can learn about a culture based on how they express themselves. There’s always an expression or a word that doesn’t exist in other languages, or seems special based on the collective mentality of that particular culture. It’s amazing to think that through all of the years, wars, and our existence as human beings – one thing remains, our method of communicating using language and our ability to love.

Not long ago I started to wonder, how do people say ‘I love you’ around the world? I already knew it in French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Korean, and English of course, but what about the other languages of the world?

So here it is, after hours upon hours of searching and research, this is how to say I love you in different languages – to be exact the 100 most spoken languages in the world!

Here are the languages in order of how many people speak them, how you say ‘I love you,’ and where it is spoken:

1. Mandarin: Wǒ ài nǐ

Where it’s spoken: China, Taiwan, Singapore

2. Spanish: te amo, te quiero

Where it’s spoken: Hispanic America, Spain, United States, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, Pacific islands

3. English: I love you

Where it’s spoken: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines

4. Hindi: main tumse pyar karta hoon

Where it’s spoken: India, Fiji, Nepal

5. Arabic: ahabak

Where it’s spoken: North Africa, Western Asia (Middle East), East Africa

6. Portuguese: eu te amo

Where it’s spoken: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste

7. Bengali: Āmi tōmāẏa bhālōbāsi

Where it’s spoken: Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), Tripura (India), Assam (India)

8. Russian: ya lyublyu tebya

Where it’s spoken: Russia, former Republics of the Soviet Union, Mongolia

9. Japanese: watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu

Where it’s spoken: Japan

10. Punjabi: maiṁ tuhānū pi’āra karadā hāṁ

Where it’s spoken: Punjab region (India, Pakistan)

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The next most spoken language is German, but ‘I love you’ in auf Deutsche has several layers, and can be a lot more specific. For example, to tell someone you love for them more in an ‘I care for you’ kind of way, you would use ‘Ich habe dich gerne’.

Next is ‘Ich hab dich lieb’, which is kind of like, ‘I have love for you’ and is used for friends and family. Between lovers, ‘I love you is’ expressed as ‘Ich liebe dich.’

11. German: ich liebe dich

Where it’s spoken: Austria, Belgium (Eupen-Malmedy), Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, South Tirol (in Italy)

12. Javanese: Aku tresna sampeyan

Where it’s spoken: Java (Indonesia)

13. Wu (Shanghainese): (ngu eh nóng) Ngu long hushin long lah

Where it’s spoken: Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu (eastern China)

14. Malay/Indonesian: saya sayang awak

Where it’s spoken: Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore

15. Korean: salanghae

Where it’s spoken: North Korea, South Korea

16. Telugu: nēnu ninnu prēmistunnānu

Where it’s spoken: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (India)

17. Vietnamese: anh yêu em

Where it’s spoken: Vietnam

18. French: je t’aime

Where it’s spoken: Belgium (Wallonia, Brussels), Canada (particularly Quebec, New Brunswick and Eastern parts of Ontario), France, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, French Caribbean, French Polynesia, various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

19. Marathi: mī tujhyāvara prēma karatō

Where it’s spoken: Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (India)

20. Tamil: nāṉ uṉṉai kātalikkiṟēṉ

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka (India), Puducherry (India), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius

21. Urdu: m – (mein ap say muhabat karta hoon) & f – (mein ap say muhabat karti hoon)

Where it’s spoken: India, Pakistan

22. Persian/Farsi: (asheghetam) used in poetry and songs – (dūset dāram)

Where it’s spoken: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan

23. Turkish: seni seviyorum

Where it’s spoken: Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria

24. Cantonese: ngóh oi néih

Where it’s spoken: Guangdong (Canton), southern Guangxi (southern China), Hong Kong, Macau

25. Italian: ti amo

Where it’s spoken: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino

26. Thai: P̄hm rạk khuṇ

Where it’s spoken: Thailand

27. Gujarati: Huṁ tanē prēma karuṁ chu

Where it’s spoken: Gujarat (India)

28. Basque: maite zaitut

Where it’s spoken: Northern Spain

29. Minnan hua: wǒ ài rǔ

Where it’s spoken: Fujian, eastern part of Guandong (southeastern China), Hainan (southern China), Taiwan, Malaysia

30. Polish: kocham Cię

Where it’s spoken: Poland, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Belarus, western Ukraine, Lithuania

31. Pashto: (za la ta sara meena kawom)

Where it’s spoken: Afghanistan, Pakistan

32. Kannada: Nānu ninnannu prītisuttēne

Where it’s spoken: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (India)

33. Malayalam: ñān ninne snēhikkunnu

Where it’s spoken: Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé (India)

34. Sundanese: abdi bogoh ka anjeun

Where it’s spoken: Java (Indonesia)

35. Chamorro: Hu guiaya hao

Where it’s spoken: this is a Austronesian language spoken mainly on the island of Guam, and also in the Marianas Islands.

36. Hausa: Ina son ka

Where it’s spoken: Nigeria

37. Burmese: mainnkohkyittaal

Where it’s spoken: Myanmar

38. Oriya: mu tumoku bhala paye

Where it’s spoken: Odisha (India)

39. Armenian: Yes sirum yem k’yez

Where it’s spoken: Armenia Georgi and Russia

40. Ukrainian: ya tebe lyublyu

Where it’s spoken: Ukraine

41. Bhojpuri: hum tohse pyaar kareni

Where it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

42. Tagalog: Iniibig kita

Where it’s spoken: Manila and Northern Philippines

43. Yoruba: mo nifẹ rẹ

Where it’s spoken: Nigeria, Benin and Togo

44. Maithili: hawm ahāṃ se prem karechi

Where it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

45. Sindhi: Man tokhe prem karyan ti or Man tokhe prem karyan to

Where it’s spoken: Sindh (Pakistan and neighboring areas in India)

46. Swahili: nakupenda

Where it’s spoken: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa with about 100 million speakers and is the national language of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Swahili is said to have originated from Arabic, among other languages. It’s possible the language came from interactions between Arabs and East Africans back in the day.

47. Uzbek: Men seni Sevaman

Where it’s spoken: Uzbekistan

48. Amharic: ewedihalehu

Where it’s spoken: Ethiopia

49. Fula: mi yidi ma

Where it’s spoken: West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan

50. Igbo: a hụrụ m gị n’anya

Where it’s spoken: Nigeria

51. Oromo: Sin jaalladha’

Where it’s spoken: Ethiopia and Kenya

52. Romanian: te iubesc

Where it’s spoken: Romania, Moldova

53. Azerbaijani: Mən səni sevirəm

Where it’s spoken: Azerbaijan and Northern Iran

54. Manipuri/Meitei: əi-nə nəng-bu nung-shi

Where it’s spoken: North East India, Bangladesh, Burma

55. Chichewa: Ndimakukonda Ndimakukondani

Where it’s spoken: Chichewa is a Bantu language spoken in parts of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique

56. Cebuano: gihigugma TIKA

Where it’s spoken: Central and Southern Philippines

57. Dutch: ik hou van je

Where it’s spoken: Belgium (Flanders, Brussels), Netherlands and Suriname

58. Kurdish: Ez hej te dikim

Where it’s spoken: “Kurdistan”, northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria

59. Serbo-Croatian: Volim te

Where it’s spoken: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro

60. Malagasy: tiako ianao

Where it’s spoken: Madagascar

61. Nepali: Ma timīlā’ī māyā garchu

Where it’s spoken: Nepal and neighbouring areas, Sikkim, (India)

62. Saraiki: mẽ tenū̃ piār kardā hā̃

Where it’s spoken: Sindh (Pakistan)

63. Santali: ing aming sibilama

Where it’s spoken: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan

64. Khmer: khnhom​ sralanh​ anak

Where it’s spoken: Cambodia

65. Sinhalese: mama oyāṭa ādareyi

Where it’s spoken: Sri Lanka

66. Bambara: M’bi fe

Where it’s spoken: Bambara is a Mali Mande language with about 3 million speakers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ghana

67. Assamese: môi apunak bhal paû

Assam (India)

68. Madurese: Kula tresna / panjengan

Where it’s spoken: Madura, and Java (Indonesia)

69. Somali: Waan ku jeclahay

Where it’s spoken: Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Yemen

70. Magahi: həm t̪oːraː seː pjaːr kərə hɪjoː/

Where it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

71. Dogri: Minjo tere naal pyar hega

Where it’s spoken: Kashmir Jamu (india)

72. Marwari: main tanne pyaar karoon

Where it’s spoken: Rajastan (India and Pakistan)

73. Hungarian: Szeretlek

Where it’s spoken: Hungary and areas in neighbouring countries

74. Chewa: ndimakukondani

Where it’s spoken: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe

75. Kinyarwanda: Ndagukunda

Where it’s spoken: Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language spoken in mainly in Rwanda

76. Greek: Se agapó

Where it’s spoken: Greece, Cyprus

77. Akan/Twi: Me dor wo

Where it’s spoken: Ghana, Ivory Coast

78. Khasi: Nga ieid ia phi

Where it’s spoken: Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people.

79. Kazakh: men seni jaqsı köremin

Where it’s spoken: Kazakhstan

80. Tswana: Ke a go rata

Where it’s spoken: Botswana

81. Hebrew: (man to a woman) –“Ani Ohev Otach”

• (woman to a man) –“Ani Ohevet Otcha”
• (woman to a woman) –“Ani Ohevet Otach”
• (man to a man) –“Ani Ohev Otcha”

Where it’s spoken: Israel

82. Zulu: Ngiyakuthanda

Where it’s spoken: South Africa

83. Czech: Miluji tě

Where it’s spoken: Czech Republic

84. Kinyarwanda: ndagukunda

Where it’s spoken: Rwanda

85. Kokani: hav tujo mog korta

Where it’s spoken: Goa (india)

86. Haitian Creole: Mwen renmen ou

Where it’s spoken: Haiti

87. Afrikaans: Ek het jou lief

Where it’s spoken: South Africa

88. Ilokano: Ayayatenka, (ay-aya-ten kaw)

Where it’s spoken: Northern Luzon in the Philippines

89. Quechua: Kuyayki

Where it’s spoken: Peru and Bolivia

90. Kirundi: Ndagukunda

Where it’s spoken: Burundi and Uganda

91. Swedish: jag älskar dig

Where it’s spoken: Sweden and Finland

92. Hmong: Kuv hlub koj

Where it’s spoken: Laos and neighbouring areas

93. Shona: Ndinokuda

Where it’s spoken: Zimbabwe

94. Hiligaynon: Palangga ko ikaw Guina higugma ko ikaw

Where it’s spoken: Western Visayas in the Philippines

95. Uyghur: (Män sızni söyümän)

Where it’s spoken: Xinjiang (Western China)

96. Balochi: Tu mana doost biyeh

Where it’s spoken: Balochistan (province in Pakistan and Iran)

97. Belarusian: ja ciabie kachaju

Where it’s spoken: Belarus

98. Maori: Kei te aroha au ki a koe

Where it’s spoken: New Zealand

99. Xhosa: ndiyakuthanda

Where it’s spoken: South Africa

100. Konkani: Hav tukka Mog Karta

Where it’s spoken: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra (India)

So whether you’re telling someone je t’aime, wo ai ni, nakupenda, or I love you, you can say it in 100 different ways today.

And of course, there’s always the good old fashioned hug and kiss, though that can vary widely from region to region too!

‘Til next time we see each other, jag älskar dig!

Note: Language rankings sourced from International Phonetic Alphabet based on number of speakers, and the 13th edition of Ethnologue via David P Brown. Translations sourced from Google translate and a myriad of other sources. If you see an error here, please comment and let me know!