Valentine’s Day is coming up (February 14), and although I am still not too thrilled about it, my bitterness towards the holiday has gone down significantly throughout the years.
I admit that I was only bitter because I did not have a romantic Valentine myself and I wanted to experience having someone give me flowers and a card and go on a Valentine’s Day date. It was especially difficult to control my annoyance towards the holiday whenever I saw my classmates receiving such romantic gestures from their partners.
I learned to appreciate the holiday when I became grateful for the love I received during that day – candy grams, hugs from friends and family, and roses from my parents. I should never have to be ashamed of receiving flowers from just my parents as they didn’t have to do it, but they chose to do so because it was another way of them telling me I am loved.
Most of all, I began appreciating more of the holiday when I started giving love to myself. I was bitter when I was not receiving love from anyone romantically. I became grateful because I was receiving the greatest love of all – self-love.
Valentine’s Day is a lovely holiday when family, friends, romantic partners, and ourselves, can express even more how they feel towards our loved ones. From gift giving to going on a unique date and ending the day with genuine feelings and words of “I love you,” I think that Valentine’s Day is a day to spread love wherever we go, whoever we are with.
A Bit of Valentine's Day History
Though most of the holiday’s history and patron saint, St. Valentine, are full of mysteries, it is known that February is celebrated as a month of romance and it contains remnants of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
The Catholic Church acknowledges at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus – a priest in Rome, a bishop in Rome, and someone who helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. All three were eventually martyred. Although the true identity of Valentine is still in question, all stories of him are seen as a “sympathetic, heroic, and most importantly, a romantic figure”. By the Middle Ages, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.
Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death, while others believe that the holiday is to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrating Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
By the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius deemed Lupercalia as “un-Christian” and declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. During the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day became more associated with love as people believed it was the beginning of birds’ mating season. Valentine’s greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages and written Valentine’s rose to fame after 1400. Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote a poem in 1415, which became the oldest known Valentine still in existence.
Along with the United States, Valentine’s Day is also celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Around the 17th century, the holiday became popularly celebrated in Great Britain as well. By the middle of the 18th century, friends and lovers would exchange handwritten notes as small tokens of affection. By 1900, printed cards became popularly used. According to Hallmark, an estimated 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest holiday for giving greeting cards, after Christmas.
I did my best to research the most accurate translations of the phrase as well as the countries in which these languages originated and are spoken frequently. If there are any mistakes or more native/common ways of saying “I love you” in a certain language, please let me know kindly in the comments and I will do more research and make the appropriate changes.
‘I Love You’ In…
AFRIKAANS | EK HET JOU LIEF (ek ey jo lif)
Countries – Namibia, South Africa
ALBANIAN | TË DUA (te do-a)
Countries – Albania, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro
ARABIC | أحبك (uhibbuka (to a man) / uhibbuki (to a woman))
Countries – Algeria, Bahrain, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara region
BENGALI | আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসি (Āmi tōmākē bhālōbāsi) (amee-tomah-kay-balo-ba-she)
Country – India
BELARUSIAN | я цябе кахаю (ja ciabie kachaju) (ya-sta-bia-ka-hi-yoo
Country – Belarus
BULGARIAN | Обичам те (Obicham te) (oh-be-chem-tay)
Country – Bulgaria
CATALAN | T’estimo (t est-ee-mo)
Countries – Andorra, France, Spain
CHAMORRO | Hu guaiya hao (oon gu-ai-za how)
Countries – Northern Mariana Islands, Guam
CROATIAN/SERBIAN | Volim te (vow-leem tay)
Countries – Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro
CZECH | Miluji tě (me-loo-see chay)
Countries – Croatia, Czech Republic
DANISH | Jeg elsker dig (yi ols-ker dye)
Country – Denmark
DUTCH | Ik hou van jou (ick how vun yow)
Country – Indonesia, The Netherlands, Suriname
ENGLISH | I love you (I luhv yu)
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, East Timor, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Syrian, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Zambia
FILIPINO | Mahal kita (mah-hal kee-tah)
Country – The Philippines
FINNISH | Minä rakastan sinua (me-neh raka-stan see-noo-wa)
Countries – Estonia, Finland
FRENCH | Je t'aime (je-tem)
Countries – Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Palestinian territories, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, St. Vincent, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Syria, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam
GERMAN | Ich liebe dich (isch leeba disch)
Countries – Argentina, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Namibia, Romania, Switzerland
GREEK | Σ'αγαπώ (S'agapó) (sa-ga-poh)
Countries – Albania, Cyprus, Greece
HAWAIIAN | Aloha Au Iā ʻOe (alo-ha vow ee-ah oh-way)
Country – United States (Hawaii)
HEBREW | / אני אוהב אותך (Ani ohev ot-akh) (male to female) / אני אוהבת אותך (Ani ohevet ot-kha) (female to male)
Countries – Israel, Palestinian territories
HINDI | मैं तुमसे प्यार करता/करती हूँ (Main tumse pyaar karta/karti hoon) (may-thoom-say-peeyar-kah-rah-tah/tee-hoom)
Countries – Guyana, India, Maldives, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago
HUNGARIAN | Szeretlek (se-ret-lek)
Countries – Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia
ICELANDIC | Ég elska þig (Yeg ehls-kah thig)
Country – Iceland
INDONESIAN | Aku cinta kamu (ah-koo chin-tah kah-moo)
Countries – East Timor, Indonesia
IRISH | Is tú mo ghrá (Iss too mu graw) / Mo Ghrá thú (muh graw hoo)
Country – Ireland
ITALIAN | Ti amo (tee amo)
Countries – Argentina, Croatia, Italy, Libya, Monaco, San Marino, Somalia, Switzerland, Vatican City
JAPANESE | 大好き(Daisuki) / 愛してる(Aishiteru)
Country – Japan
KOREAN | 사랑해요 (Saranghaeyo)
Country – Republic of Korea
LATIN | Te amo (teh ah-moh)
Country – Vatican City
LATVIAN | Es mīlu tevi (es mee-lu teh-vee)
Country – Latvia
LITHUANIAN | Aš tave myliu (as tay-vee me-loo)
Country – Liechtenstein
MACEDONIAN | Те сакам (te-sakam)
Country – Macedonia
MALAY | Saya sayang awak / Saya cintakan awak
Countries – Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore
MALTESE | Inhobbok (yin-in-ho-bak)
Country – Malta
MANDARIN CHINESE | 我愛你 (wǒ ài nǐ)
Countries – China, Singapore, Taiwan
MONGOLIAN | Би чамд хайртай (Bi Chamd Xairtai) (bee-chamd-hare-teh)
Countries – China, Mongolia
NORWEGIAN | Jeg elsker deg (ye-elsker-dye)
Country – Norway
PALAUAN | Betik a renguk er kau (bae-tig are-ngug er kow)
Country – Palau
POLISH | Kocham cię (ko-ham chie)
Countries – Liechtenstein, Poland
PORTUGUESE | Te amo (tay amoh) / Amo-te (amoh tay)
Countries – Andorra, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal
ROMANIAN | Te iubesc (tay yoo-bay-sk)
Country – Romania
RUSSIAN | Я люблю тебя (Ya lyublyu tebya)
Countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
SAMOAN | Ou te alofa ia te oe (oh the ah-low-fah ia the oy)
Country – Samoa
SCOTS GAELIC | Tha gaol agam ort (ha g-eul-ah-kum orsht)
Country – United Kingdom
SLOVAK | Ľúbim ťa (loo-bim-cha)
Countries – Croatia, Slovakia
SOMALI | Waan ku jeclahay (wahn koo jeh-lah-hi)
Countries – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia
SPANISH | Te amo (teh ah-moh)
Countries – Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
SWAHILI | Nakupenda (nah-koo-pen-dah)
Countries – Burundi, Central African Republic, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
SWEDISH | Jag älskar dig (ya elsker day)
Countries – Finland, Sweden
TAMIL | நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (nāṉ uṉṉai kātalikkiṟēṉ)
Countries – India, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain
THAI | ฉันรักคุณ (chạn-rạk-khuṇ)
Country – Thailand
TURKISH | Seni seviyorum (say-nee say-vee-yor-um)
Countries – Cyprus, Turkey
UKRAINIAN | Я люблю́ тебе́ (ya liubliu tebe)
Countries – Estonia, Ukraine
VIETNAMESE | Anh yêu em (male to female) / Em yêu anh (female to male) (ahn-yew-em / em-yew-ahn)
Country – Vietnam
WELSH | rwy'n dy garu di (roo-en de gary dee)
Country: United Kingdom
ZULU | Ngiyakuthanda
Countries – Lesotho, South Africa
Let's Chat!
Are there other ways to say “I love you” in the language that you are most fluent in?
