aimer
/ɛ.me/
To like in French is aimer.
aimer is used to express that you find an object, an activity or a concept pleasant or attractive.
Which one should you use?
While aimer is the standard verb for liking objects or activities, its meaning changes when applied to people. When used with people, aimer often translates to 'to love'. If you wish to specify that you only 'like' a person (in a friendly way) rather than 'love' them, you should use aimer bien instead.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛ.me/
Did you know?
- When French speakers want to say they 'like' a food or drink in a more casual or enthusiastic way, they often use the slang verb kiffer, which originates from the Arabic word for 'pleasure'.
- French has a specific term, coup de foudre (bolt of lightning), to describe the feeling of 'liking' someone instantly and intensely for the first time.
- To express that you 'really love' someone, you can add beaucoup (much), but doing this when talking about a person often shifts the meaning back to 'like'. This creates a linguistic paradox where aimer is stronger than aimer beaucoup.
Examples in context
- Il aimera ce jeu.He'll like this game.This sentence shows the use of aimer regarding a game.Tatoeba #2129337 by Amastan, translation #7773630 by karloelkebekio
- Il aimera le vin.He'll like the wine.This sentence shows the use of aimer regarding wine.Tatoeba #5262059 by martin9, translation #8881648 by deniko
- Ziri va aimer ça.Ziri will like that.This sentence shows the use of aimer regarding a general situation.Tatoeba #12480290 by always, translation #10213966 by Amastan
- Je travaille comme un professionnelI work like a professional
- Il agit au même titre qu'un chef d'entrepriseHe acts like a CEO
- Il a conçu cette œuvre dans la même veine que PicassoHe created this artwork in the same vein as Picasso
- Je vais genre chez luiI'm going, like, to his place
- Elle est comme ma meilleure amieShe's like my best friend
- 1872 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are discussing a new movie.
- HugoEst-ce que tu veux voir ce film ?Do you want to see this movie?
- ManonOui, je pense que je vais aimer.Yes, I think I'm going to like it.
- HugoMoi aussi, j'adore cet acteur !Me too, I love this actor!
- ManonC'est vrai, on va beaucoup aimer.That's true, we are going to like it a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry aimer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
I arrived at this page because I just read about a Canadian movie called “C’est plus facile de liker que dire je t’aime,” and I’d never seen “liker” so when I translated the title, I was shocked to see that “liker” translated to “like.” I’ve studied French my entire life and only just encountered it for the first time today. I’m guessing it’s a new word that’s Frenchified an English one? It’s going to take some getting used to!
I think it refers specifically to social media “Like” so yeah it’s english “like” transformed into a verb. (the character in the movie is jealous of other people’s “Like”s and comments on girlfriend’s social media posts)
Exactly! Liker comes from the Like button on social media. You’ll see it in Quebec and in France, but for liking things in general aimer is still the word.