Je l'aime
To say I love her in French, use Je l'aime. It expresses deep affection or romantic love for a woman or girl.
Je l'aime is used when you talk about her to someone else. It works for romantic love and for strong affection in general.
What does it mean word for word?
Je means I, l' means her and aime means love. The French word order is I her love.
Which one should you use?
Je suis fou/folle d'elle is an informal way to say you are crazy about her.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Je l'aime ben gros is a colloquial way to say I love her very much.
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun la, meaning her, shortens to l' because the verb begins with a vowel. Since le, meaning him or it, shortens the same way, Je l'aime can also mean I love him or I love it. Context makes the meaning clear.
Did you know?
- While Je l'aime is romantic, adding the word bien to say Je l'aime bien actually weakens the sentiment, making it mean 'I like her' rather than 'I love her'.
- The pronoun je descends from the Classical Latin egō̆, which is the direct ancestor of the English word 'I' through other linguistic paths.
- The phrase Je l'aime à mourir is the title of a world-famous 1984 song by Francis Cabrel, which solidified the expression as a poetic standard for obsessive love in French culture.
Examples in context
- Je l'aime à mourir.I love her to death.Je l'aime à mourir means I love her to death.Tatoeba #12624226 by lbdx, translation #246331 by Swift
- Dis-lui que je l'aime.Tell her that I love her.Dis-lui que je l'aime means tell her that I love her.Tatoeba #1046030 by sacredceltic, translation #1031588 by Shishir
- Je l'aime malgré tout.I love her anyway.malgré tout adds the idea of anyway or in spite of everything.Tatoeba #5552237 by sacredceltic, translation #3248415 by Hybrid
- 38 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking about Nathan's sister.
- NathanJe l'aime beaucoup, ma sœur.I love my sister a lot.
- LéaC'est vrai, elle est très gentille.It's true, she is very kind.
- NathanOui, Je l'aime vraiment.Yes, I really love her.
- LéaC'est très mignon, Nathan.That is very sweet, Nathan.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries je, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
