j'aime
/ʒ‿ɛm/
In French, "likes" can be expressed using the phrase j'aime.
The phrase is used to express that someone finds something pleasant or enjoys it. The base verb is the infinitive aimer, which can mean both "to like" and "to love". The distinction between these two meanings often depends on the context or the object being discussed.
Which one should you use?
While j'aime is the standard way to say "I like" or "I love", French speakers often use j'adore to express a stronger sense of liking or "loving" a hobby or an object. For a more formal tone, you can use apprécier, which means "to appreciate" or "to like". Conversely, in very informal settings, you might hear kiffer to mean "to really like" or "to love" and the slang expression kiffer grave to mean "really, really liking" something.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb's infinitive form is aimer. The form aime specifically serves as the third-person singular conjugation for "he/she/it likes".
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒ‿ɛm/
What mistakes should you avoid?
When speaking, do not say "je aime". In natural speech, the 'e' in 'je' is elided, creating the contraction j'aime.
Did you know?
- The slang word kiffer comes from the Arabic word kif, which refers to a state of pleasure or the enjoyment of cannabis.
- When talking about people, je t'aime means 'I love you', but adding an adverb like bien to say je t'aime bien actually weakens the meaning to 'I like you'.
- In French, if you want to say you 'like' a person in a romantic way, you use aimer, but using adorer for a person is often seen as purely platonic or affectionate.
Examples in context
- J'aime les chiens et ma sœur aime les chats.I like dogs and my sister likes cats.This sentence is useful for showing how to use j'aime to express liking different things.Tatoeba #542561 by Thierry, translation #765973 by Angela
- Moi j'aime les chiens, mais ma sœur aime les chats.I like dogs, but my sister likes cats.This sentence shows how to use j'aime when contrasting two preferences.Tatoeba #476792 by mamat, translation #257237 by mamat
- J'aimerais marier une fille qui aime jouer aux jeux vidéos.I'd like to marry a girl who likes to play video games.This sentence demonstrates using j'aime within a larger sentence describing a preference.Tatoeba #614485 by Scott, translation #34757 by CK
- Je l'aime bienI like it.
- Vous les aimez tous les deuxYou both like them.
- Ils apprécient la musique classiqueThey like classical music.
- Je kiffe cette chansonI really like this song.
- Elle adore les chiensShe loves dogs.
- Tu kiffes grave cette série!You really, really like this series!
- Ils kiffent grave la musiqueThey really, really love music.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are choosing a movie to watch.
- EmmaJ'aime beaucoup les films de science-fiction.I really like science fiction movies.
- LucasMoi, j'aime bien les comédies.As for me, I like comedies.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu aimes ce film ?Do you like this movie?
- LucasOui, j'aime beaucoup l'histoire.Yes, I like the story a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry j'aime, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
