Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| je t'aime | /ʒə t‿ɛm/ | informal, singular |
| je vous aime | /ʒə vu.z‿ɛm/ | formal, plural |
| je t'adore | informal, singular | |
| je vous adore | formal, plural |
This phrase is used to express an affirmation of romantic feeling. While je t'aime is the classic way to say "I love you", you can also use je t'adore to express a sense of adoration and affection or even je suis fou amoureux de toi to say "I'm madly in love with you". To add affection to your speech, you might use terms of endearment such as mon amour (my love), ma chérie (my dear) or mon ange (my angel).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase je t'aime literally translates to "I you love" because the object pronoun te (contracted to t') precedes the verb.
Which one should you use?
Je t'aime is the standard way to express romantic love. In contrast, je t'adore is often used as a slightly more enthusiastic or less heavy way to express affection.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
je t'aime and je t'adore are informal and used with a single person. je vous aime and je vous adore are formal versions used when addressing someone with higher social status, someone older or when you wish to show respect. je vous adore acts as a formal equivalent to je t'adore to express admiration and reverence.
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing a single person whom you wish to address with respect, or when addressing more than one person (plural), use je vous aime or je vous adore instead of je t'aime.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒə t‿ɛm/
Did you know?
- If you want to say 'I love you' to a friend or family member without the romantic weight of je t'aime, you might actually add a small word like bien to create je t'aime bien, which actually weakens the meaning to 'I like you'.
- In French, the verb aimer is used for both romantic love and liking a thing or a person. To distinguish them, speakers often rely on the specific context or the addition of modifiers.
- The formal pronoun vous used in je vous aime shares a common linguistic root with the Italian word voi and the Russian word вы.
Examples in context
- PS : Je t'aime.PS: I love you.This is useful for a postscript note.Tatoeba #848270 by sacredceltic, translation #1357022 by sacredceltic
- Mais je t'aime !But I love you!This is useful for expressing a strong, emphatic emotion.Tatoeba #10087314 by Rovo, translation #10087190 by ddnktr
- Papa, je t'aime !Daddy, I love you!This is useful for expressing affection to a parent.Tatoeba #5230593 by michelnialon, translation #2075226 by Vened
- 171 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is having a quiet moment at a park.
- ChloéJe t'aime, Hugo.I love you, Hugo.
- HugoMoi aussi, je t'aime, Chloé.I love you too, Chloé.
- ChloéC'est si merveilleux.It is so wonderful.
- HugoOui, je suis si heureux.Yes, I am so happy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries je t'aime, je vous aime, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries je, vous, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
