je l'aime
The English phrase "I love him" is expressed in French as je l'aime.
This phrase is used to express deep affection or romantic love for a male person.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of je (I), l’ (him) and aime (love), with the object pronoun placed before the verb. Literally, it translates to "I him love".
Which one should you use?
There is a significant difference in meaning between je l'aime and je l'aime bien. While je l'aime means "I love him" (romantic/deep affection), adding the adverb 'bien' to create je l'aime bien actually weakens the meaning to mean "I like him" (as a friend).
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the elided direct object pronoun l’ (a form of 'le') to represent 'him' before the verb aime because the verb starts with a vowel.
Did you know?
- While je l'aime expresses love, French has a specific term le coup de foudre to describe the 'bolt of lightning' feeling of falling in love at first sight.
- In French, the same phrase je l'aime can mean both 'I love him' and 'I love her' because the pronoun l' is gender-neutral in writing and sound.
- While English speakers use 'love' for everything from pizza to partners, a French speaker might use j'adore for a person, which can ironically feel less profound than the standard je l'aime.
Examples in context
- Je l'aime à mourir.I love him to death.This sentence is useful for expressing an extreme level of love using je l'aime.Tatoeba #12624226 by lbdx, translation #9306110 by shekitten
- Il m'aime et je l'aime.He loves me and I love him.This sentence shows a reciprocal relationship using je l'aime.Tatoeba #12943468 by lbdx, translation #7384103 by CH
- Dis à Tom que je l'aime.Tell Tom I love him.This sentence is useful for conveying a message to someone else using je l'aime.Tatoeba #5803147 by Toynop, translation #1860538 by CK
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are talking about Emma's boyfriend.
- EmmaJe l'aime énormément.I love him enormously.
- NathanC'est vraiment beau.That is truly beautiful.
- EmmaOui, je l'aime de tout mon cœur.Yes, I love him with all my heart.
- NathanIl a beaucoup de chance.He is very lucky.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
