French Love Language: L'Amour et l'Amitié

If French is the language of love, what better language is there with which to express your love? Here are some key French words and phrases related to love, friendship, and special occasions. Click on the link to hear the word or phrase pronounced.

Love	amour
Love at first sight	le coup de foudre
friendship	amitié
I love you	Je t'aime
I love you too	Moi aussi, je t'aime
I adore you	Je t'adore
Will you marry me?	Veux-tu m'épouser?

to kiss	embrasser
to french kiss	galocher ( learn more)
to date	sortir avec
to fall in love (with)	tomber amoureux (de) (not "tomber en amour")
to get engaged	se fiancer à (or avec)
to get married	se marier avec

engagement	les fiançailles
marriage	le mariage
wedding	les noces, le mariage
wedding anniversary	l'anniversaire de mariage
honeymoon	la lune de miel

St. Valentine's Day (card)	(une carte de) la Saint-Valentin
present	un cadeau
flowers	des fleurs
candy	des bonbons
clothes	des vêtements
perfume	du parfum
jewelry	des bijoux
engagement ring	une bague de fiançailles
wedding ring	une alliance

husband	un mari, un époux
wife	une femme, une épouse
fiance	un fiancé, une fiancée*
lover	un amant, une amante
boyfriend	un copain
girlfriend	une copine
friend	un ami, une amie*
dear, sweetheart	chéri, chérie*

* Same pronunciation for masculine and feminine version.

French Terms of Endearment (Termes d'Affection)

French has all kinds of interesting terms of endearment, including a rather odd assortment of barnyard animals. Check out this list of French terms of endearment to use with your loved ones (both romantic and familial). For the most part, these all mean something along the lines of "sweetie," "darling," or "poppet," so we've provided the literal translations as well as a few notes (in parentheses).

My love	mon amour
My angel	mon ange
My baby	mon bébé
My beautiful (informal)	ma belle
My dear	mon cher, ma chère
My dearie	mon chéri, ma chérie
My cutie	mon mignon
My Half	ma moitié
My little guy / girl	mon petit / ma petite
My doll	ma poupée
My heart	mon cœur
My little girl (informal, old-fashioned)	ma fifille
My big guy / girl	mon grand / ma grande
My Jesus (when talking to a child)	mon jésus
My treasure	mon trésor
My (fruit) core (when talking to a child)	mon trognon

Ma mie literally "my female friend," but used to mean "my dear/love."

This is a somewhat old-fashioned term contracted from mon amie > m'amie > ma mie. Note that mie also refers to the soft part of bread — the opposite of the crust.

Affectionate French Terms Related to Animals

Learn some playful French word for your loved ones.

My doe	ma biche
My little doe	ma bichette
My quail (informal)	ma caille
My duck	mon canard
My kitten	mon chaton
My cat (familiar)	ma chatte
My pig	mon cochon
My egg	mon coco
My hen (informal)	ma cocotte
My rabbit	mon lapin
My otter	ma loutre
My wolf	mon loup
My pussycat (informal)	mon mimi
My pussycat	mon minet / ma minette
My kitty	mon minou
My hen	ma poule
My chicken	mon poulet
My pullet (informal)	ma poulette
My chick (informal)	mon poussin
My flea (informal)	ma puce

Love Words Related to Food

My cabbage, my pastry (informal)	mon chou
My favorite, blue-eyed boy/girl, pet* (informal)	mon chouchou
My dropping (also refers to a small, round goat cheese)	ma crotte
My barley sugar	mon sucre d'orge

*as in "teacher's pet"  

Notes About Modifiers

• The word petit (little) can be added in front of most of these: mon petit chou, ma petite chatte, etc.
• The phrase en sucre (made of sugar) can be added to the end of some: mon trésor en sucre, mon cœur en sucre, etc.

Note that the possessive adjectives mon and ma (my) have to agree with the gender of the term of endearment—not your own gender nor necessarily that of the person you're talking to/about. Generally speaking, masculine terms of endearment can be used for men and women, while feminine terms of endearment can only be used for women.

Perfect Your Pronunciation: How to Say "I Love You" in French

They say that French is the language of love, so you'd better know how to say I love you! These step-by-step instructions will teach you how to say I love you in French.

Here's How

1. Find the person you love.
2. Say his or her name.
3. Say je t'aime:
   • j in je is pronounced [zh] like the g in mirage
   • e is pronounced like the oo in good
   • t'aime is pronounced [tem] to rhyme with them.
4. Optional: Follow with "my darling":
   • To a woman = ma chérie, pronounced [ma shay ree].
   • To a man = mon chéri, pronounced [mo(n) shay ree]. The (n) is nasal.
   • You can also choose a different French term of endearment
5. Optional: To respond to someone who says "I love you," say Moi aussi, je t'aime (I love you too).
   • moi is pronounced "mwa."
   • aussi is pronounced "oh see."
6. You can listen to sound files of these terms on my page of French love language

What You Need

• A few minutes of practice
• A romantic location
• Your beloved
• (optional) candles, flowers, bonbons, soft music, an engagement ring...

English Expressions Using "Love"

The English word "love" is found in many different expressions. Here's how to translate these phrases into French.

love affair (literal)	une liaison
love affair (figurative)	une passion
love at first sight	le coup de foudre
love child	un enfant d'amour un enfant illégitime un enfant naturel
love feast	une agape un banquet
love game (tennis)	un jeu blanc
love handles	poignées d'amour
love-hate relationship	un rapport amour-haine
love-in-a-mist (plant)	la nigelle de Damas
love-knot	les lacs d'amour
love letter	une lettre d'amour un billet-doux
love-lies-bleeding (plant)	amarante queue-de-renard
love life	la vie amoureuse ses amours
love match	un mariage d'amour
love nest	un nid d'amour un nid d'amoureux
love of one's life	le grand amour
love potion	un philtre d'amour
love scene	une scène d'amour
love seat	une causeuse
love story	une histoire d'amour
love (in tennis)	zéro, rien
love token	un gage d'amour
love triangle	un triangle amoureux
loved ones	êtres chers
lovestruck	éperdument amoureux
brotherly love	amour fraternel
casual love affair	un amour de rencontre
courtly love	amour courtois
declaration of love	une déclaration d'amour
first love	son premier amour
free love	amour libre
in love (with)	amoureux (de)
labor of love	une tâche accomplie pour le plaisir
madly in love	fou d'amour
my love (term of endearment)	mon amour
physical love	amour physique
platonic love	amour platonique
puppy love	amour juvénile
true love	le grand amour
for the love of God	pour l'amour de Dieu
He loves me, he loves me not	Il m'aime un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, à la folie, pas du tout
How's your love life?	Comment vont tes amours ?
I'd love to!	Avec plaisir ! Volontiers !
It can't be had for love nor money.	C'est introuvable. On ne peut se le procurer à aucun prix.
Lucky at cards, unlucky in love	Heureux au jeu, malheureux en amour
not for love nor money I wouldn't do it for love nor money.	pour rien au monde Je ne le ferais pour rien au monde.
Someone up there loves me.	C'est mon jour de veine.
There's no love lost between them.	Entre eux, ce n'est pas le grand amour. Ils ne peuvent pas se sentir.
to do something for the love of it	faire qqchose pour l'amour de l'art
to do something out of love for	faire qqchose par l'amour pour
to do something with loving care	faire qqchose avec amour
to fall in love (with)	tomber amoureux (de)
to live on love alone	vivre / se nourrir d'amour et d'eau fraîche
to love	aimer
to make love	faire l'amour