minä rakastan sinua
To say "I love you" in Finnish, use minä rakastan sinua. Wiktionary also lists rakastan sinua.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Finnish |
|---|
| minä rakastan sinua |
| rakastan sinua |
This phrase is used for deep, romantic love, rather than the casual "love" used for hobbies or objects (which would use the verb tykätä or pitää).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase minä rakastan sinua is composed of minä (I), rakastan (love) and sinua (you in the partitive case).
Which one should you use?
Dropping the pronoun minä to say rakastan sinua is very common and sounds more natural in spoken Finnish than including it.
How does it change in a sentence?
The -n ending on rakastan indicates the first-person singular subject minä (I). The word sinua is the partitive case of sinä (you), which is required because the verb rakastaa (to love) governs the partitive case.
When do people say it?
When expressing affection, you might also use the endearing word suloiseni, which means "my sweetie".
Did you know?
- The grammar of rakastan sinua uses the partitive case, which often implies an ongoing process. This suggests that the act of loving the person is a continuous and unfinished state.
- While rakastan sinua is for deep romance, Finns often use minä tykkään sinusta to express a 'crush' or romantic interest in the early stages of dating.
- In traditional Finnish folk poetry and early literature, love was often described through metaphors of nature or gold rather than the direct statement rakastan sinua.
Examples in context
- Minä rakastan sinua, Tom.I love you, Tom.This sentence shows the use of the full form minä rakastan sinua with a name.Tatoeba #3762675 by Silja, translation #2765612 by CK
- Tiedät, että rakastan sinua.You know I love you.This sentence demonstrates how to use the shortened form rakastan sinua.Tatoeba #3336983 by Silja, translation #3330899 by CK
- Sen takia minä rakastan sinua.That's why I love you.This sentence provides an example of the full form minä rakastan sinua in a larger context.Tatoeba #3377369 by Silja, translation #3374653 by CK
- 40 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A romantic walk in a park at sunset.
- MikkoMinä rakastan sinua, Anna.I love you, Anna.
- AnnaMinäkin rakastan sinua, Mikko.I love you too, Mikko.
- MikkoOlet minulle erittäin tärkeä.You are very important to me.
- AnnaOlet aivan ihana.You are absolutely wonderful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries minä rakastan sinua, rakastan sinua, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
