Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 愛してる | ai-shiteru | [a̠i ɕi̥te̞ɾɯ̟] (narrow) |
| 君を愛している | kimi o ai-shite iru | |
| 俺はお前のことが好きだ | ore wa omae no koto ga suki da | |
| 俺はお前が好きだ | ore wa omae ga suki da | |
| 好きよ | suki yo | |
| 私はあなたが好きだ | watashi wa anata ga suki da | |
| アイ・ラブ・ユー | ai-rabu-yū | [a̠i ɾa̠bɯ̟ jɯ̟ː] (narrow) |
| 好きやねん | sukiyanen |
The phrase 愛してる is almost exclusively used for romantic love and is rarely used for friends or family. It is a very heavy, serious expression of romantic love often reserved for profound moments or long-term partners.
What does it mean word for word?
In the full grammatical form 君を愛している, 君 is 'you', を is the object marker and 愛している is the continuous form of 'to love'.
Which one should you use?
Other variations include 大好きだよ, which translates to "I really like you" and is used to express deep affection informally and 惚れてるよ, a colloquial phrase that translates to "I'm in love with you.".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a formal context, you can use 愛しています or あなたを愛しています. For a casual setting, 愛してるよ is a straightforward way to say "I love you". There is also a very masculine and informal way to express affection using 俺 (ore) and お前 (omae) in the phrase 俺はお前が好きだ.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, people use 好きやねん to mean "I like you" or "I love you".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form 君を愛している (kimi o ai-shite iru) is the full grammatical construction where 君 (kimi) is 'you', を (o) is the object marker and 愛している (ai-shite iru) is the continuous form of 'to love'.
How do you pronounce it?
ai-shiteru
When do people say it?
The katakana version アイ・ラブ・ユー (ai-rabu-yū) is a phonetic transliteration of the English 'I love you' and is sometimes used in pop culture or song lyrics.
Did you know?
- In many Japanese media and real-life scenarios, people often express 'I love you' by saying 月が綺麗ですね, which literally translates to 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it?'
- The word 愛 (ai) was historically rarely used in spoken Japanese and was largely introduced into common romantic usage via translations of Western literature.
- While 愛してる is romantic, Japanese has separate words for love, such as 慈愛 (jiai) for maternal love and 敬愛 (keiai) for love based on respect.
Examples in context
- 愛してるよ、リサ！I love you, Lisa!This sentence is useful for practicing the form 愛してる in a direct address.Tatoeba #8736627 by small_snow, translation #9234969 by kedymera
- 心から愛してるよ。I love you from the bottom of my heart.This sentence shows how to use the form 愛してる to express deep emotion.Tatoeba #10680320 by small_snow, translation #6133249 by carlosalberto
- あなた。大好きよ。Honey, I love you.This sentence uses the form 好きよ to show affection.Tatoeba #12698715 by small_snow, translation #2185162 by Hybrid
- 29 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui are walking together in a park at sunset.
- 健太 Kenta結衣、ずっと前から愛してる。Yui, zutto mae kara aishiteru.Yui, I have loved you for a long time.
- 結衣 Yui本当に？私も愛してるよ。Hontou ni? Watashi mo aishiteru yo.Really? I love you too.
- 健太 Kentaこれからはもっと大切にするよ。Kore kara wa motto taisetsu ni suru yo.I will cherish you even more from now on.
- 結衣 Yui嬉しい、ありがとう、健太。Ureshii, arigatou, Kenta.I'm so happy, thank you, Kenta.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries 愛してる, アイ・ラブ・ユー, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
