彼を愛しています
kare o aishiteimasu
The English phrase "I love him" is translated into Japanese as 彼を愛しています (kare o aishiteimasu).
The phrase is used to express deep, serious and profound romantic love for a male person. It is important to note that the verb used here, 愛しています, expresses a very heavy and intense level of affection that is used much less frequently in daily Japanese conversation than the English equivalent.
What does it mean word for word?
彼 (kare) means "him", the particle を (o) is an object marker that marks 彼 as the direct object of the verb and 愛しています (aishiteimasu) is the verb form meaning "to love him".
Which one should you use?
While 愛しています expresses deep, profound love, the phrase 好きです (suki desu), meaning "I like/love you", is much more common for expressing romantic attraction or affection in Japanese.
How does it change in a sentence?
The polite form of the phrase is 彼を愛しています (kare o aishiteimasu), while the informal version is 彼を愛している (kare o aishite iru).
How do you pronounce it?
kare o aishiteimasu
Did you know?
- The word 愛 (ai) in 愛しています was historically rarely used in spoken Japanese and was primarily found in written literature or poetry until Western influence popularized it.
- In traditional Japanese culture, love is often communicated through 'ishin-denshin', the idea of heart-to-heart communication where feelings are understood without speaking them aloud.
- The word 彼 (kare) can mean 'him', but it is also the standard Japanese word for 'boyfriend'.
Examples in context
- 心から彼を愛しています。Kokoro kara kare o aishite imasu.I love him from the bottom of my heart.
Example conversation
Himarui is talking to Yota about her partner.
- 陽太 Yota彼女は彼と付き合っているの？Kanojo wa kare to tsukiatte iru no?Is she dating him?
- 陽葵 Himariはい、私は彼を愛しています。Hai, watashi wa kare o aishiteimasu.Yes, I love him.
- 陽太 Yotaそれはとても素敵だね。Sore wa totemo suteki da ne.That is very wonderful.
- 陽葵 Himariありがとうございます、陽太さん。Arigatou gozaimasu, Yota-san.Thank you, Yota.
