How to say 'I love you' in French

It’s not for no reason that French enjoys a reputation as the most romantic language in the world. From the suave accents of its speakers to the sheer quantity of romantic poetry penned by love poets like Baudelaire and Verlaine, French truly is le langage de l'amour.

The romantic appeal of French is one of the main reasons people cite for studying it, and so it’s no surprise that one of the first phrases that people want to learn to say in French is ‘I love you.’

So how do you say ‘I love you’ in French?

There are a few ways to say 'I love you' in French (more on this further down). But by far the most common is Je t'aime, which uses the verb aimer.

Aimer means to love when used in reference to a person or living being. When used to talk about a thing, object or activity, however, it means 'to like'.

Examples with aimer:

Je t'aime, maman. - I love you, mum/mom.

Nous aimons jouer au golf le vendredi. - We like to play golf on Fridays.

Mes enfants n'aiment pas beaucoup les légumes. - My children don't like vegetables very much.

Another thing to note is that while Je t'aime means 'I love you', the phrase Je t’aime beaucoup means 'You mean a lot to me', and is typically something you'd say to a friend rather than a loved one.

How come we don't say Je t'adore?

While you can say Je t'adore to mean 'I love you', the phrase will lose its romantic connotations. Adorer is typically used with objects, things or activities. When used to refer to people, it means something closer to 'I like you a lot'. It's something you might say to a friend; less so to a family member or romantic partner.

Examples with adorer:

J'adore faire du sport. - I love to play sports.

Mes chats adorent le saumon. - My cats love salmon.

Je l'adore, c'est mon humoriste préférée. - I really like her, she's my favourite comedian.