ndimakukonda
The English phrase "I love you" is translated into Chichewa as ndimakukonda.
This phrase is used to express an affirmation of romantic feeling.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)
Which one should you use?
The form ndimakukonda is used when speaking to a single person of equal or lower status, such as a friend or a romantic partner. If you want to express love to more than one person, or if you wish to show respect to a single person, you should use the form ndimakukondani.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the phrase from the singular/informal to the plural or polite form, the suffix '-ni' is added to the end of the verb to create ndimakukondani.
Did you know?
- In Chichewa, the word for 'love' is the same as the word for 'like', meaning the distinction between 'I love you' and 'I like you' relies heavily on context and intensity.
- Because Chichewa is a tonal language, the meaning of ndimakukonda can be subtly altered by the pitch and inflection used by the speaker.
- The structure of ndimakukonda is highly agglutinative, meaning it packs the subject 'I', the tense, the object 'you', and the action 'love' into one single word.
Examples in context
- Ndimakukondani, AmaiI love you, Mom
- Ndimakukonda kwambiri, KhumboI love you very much, Khumbo
- Ndimakukonda kwambiri.I love you very much.
- Ndikufuna kuti udziwe kuti ndimakukonda.I want you to know that I love you.
Example conversation
A couple is saying goodbye before work.
- TiondaLumbani, ndimakukonda.Lumbani, I love you.
- LumbaniNdimakukondanso, Tionda.I love you too, Tionda.
- TiondaTionana mawa.See you tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
