How to Say I Love You in French

What better feeling is there than being able to tell someone that you love them? For many, love is one of the biggest reasons why they started learning French in the first place.

There are so many different ways in French to express your affection for someone or tell them you love them, and in this article we’re going to go over as many of them as possible.

Let’s get right into it…

Je t’aime – I love you

Je t’aime is no doubt the most popular and commonly-used way to say to say “I love you” in French. You’ll hear this one used the most as well as use it yourself the most. It’s pretty easy to understand as it literally means “I love you” (Je = I, t’= you, aime = love.) This one is quite versatile as it can be used in romantic situations as well as with family and friends.

If for some reason you only want to learn one way to say “I love you” in French then this is definitely the one you should learn.

 

Je t’aime pour toujours – I’ll love you forever

If you really want to emphasize that you love someone you can say Je t’aime pour toujours which means “I’ll love you forever”. There’s not a lot of explanation that’s needed with this one as it’s pretty self explanatory.

 

Je t’adore – I love you (I adore you

Love is a complicated emotion that has slightly different meanings depending on who you are speaking to. Je t’adore is a great example of this.

Although it’s definitely used to tell someone “I love you” it doesn’t carry any intimate or romantic meaning. This is something that you would say about a close friend or someone else that you feel close to.

Having that said if you are using the verb adorer for an object or just something that isn’t a person, it is stronger than the verb aimer.

Je suis fou / folle de toi – I am crazy about you

Sometimes you are just crazy about someone and want a way to say it to them. In these types of cases you want to say Je suis fou de toi (literally “I am crazy about you”) if you are male and Je suis folle de toi if you are female.

It may go without saying, but this is one that you should only use if you feel very very strongly about someone in a romantic way.

 

Tu me rends gaga – You make me crazy/stupid

This one is a little silly and you probably won’t hear it that often. It’s always a good idea to be prepared however.  The word gaga is a little difficult to translate into English with its best translation being a mixture between “crazy” and “stupid”. Nevertheless the phrase here isn’t that difficult to understand.

 

Je t’ai dans la peau – I’ve got you under my skin

The closest English translation for this one is “I’ve got you under my skin” which, although isn’t used that often, just means that you have strong feelings for someone. Think of it like you feel so strongly for someone that it’s as if they are a part of you.

This is another one that you probably won’t hear too much, but you never know what you may come across in daily life.

If you’re into old French music Édith Piaf has a song by the same name that you should check out.

 

Tu me rends tellement heureux / heureuse – You make me so happy

This is an easy one that you can use without an issue. Translated literally it means “You make me so happy”. Although this may not be a direct way to tell someone that you love them, it’s definitely a great way to express your feelings.

It also can be used in combination with Je t’aime or one of the others on this list.

Sans toi, je ne suis rien – I’m nothing without you

This is another good one that, even if it isn’t a direct way to tell someone you love them, is still a great way to show your affection. Translated into English we get “I’m nothing without you” or “Without you, I’m nothing”.

 

Je suis amoureux / amoureuse de toi – I am in love with you

This one doesn’t exactly mean “I love you”, but rather “I am in love with you”. This is no doubt a good way to tell your significant other that you have strong feelings for them. This one should be kept to just romantic relationships and not used with family or friends.

 

Je t’aime plus que tu ne peux l’imaginer – I love you more than you can imagine

Je t’aime plus que tu ne peux l’imaginer when translated into English gives us “I love you more than you can imagine”. This is another very solid way to express to a romantic partner that you love them.

 

Coup de foudre – Love at first site

Sometimes love strikes at a random time and the French expression for this is coup de foudre. Literally translated as “lightning strike” it means that you experienced a sudden feeling of love, typically after you’ve met someone for the first time.

Think of this one as “love at first site”.

Tomber amoureux / amoureuse – To fall in love

Although love can happen at a moments notice more often than not it takes time. For this type of situation you want to use tomber amoureux (m) or tomber amoureuse (f) which means “to fall in love”. You obviously wouldn’t use this to tell someone you love them, but rather to describe coming to love someone.

 

Tomber en amour – To fall in love

This one takes a little bit of explanation. In most parts of the French-speaking world saying tomber en amour is NOT a correct way to say “to fall in love”. If you’re in French class and say this you’ll likely be corrected by your teacher and told that the correct way is tomber amoureux. 

However, having this said, tomber en amour is absolutely used in Québec. So if you’re looking to learn Québecois French or just want to take a trip to Québec, then by all means use this one. If you’re elsewhere in the French-speaking world then stick with tomber amoureux.

This is also the case for être en amour (to be in love). Only use it in Québec.

 

Fou amoureux / Folle amoureuse – Madly in love

There are times when you feel that you love someone so much it’s crazy, and in those instances this is a great one to use. In English it translates to “Madly in love” as in “I am madly in love with you”.

 

Je t’aime à la folie – I love you like crazy

Je t’aime à la folie is another way to say “I’m crazy about you”. The word folie translates in English to “craziness”, so Je t’aime à la folie has the best translation of “I love you like crazy”.

Hopefully by reading through this guide you have a better idea of how to express your love for someone in the French language. With an emotion so strong, isn’t is great to know how to express it in all possible situations?