Which one should you use?
When talking about people, aimer expresses deep romantic love. You can use other terms depending on the context and region: in France, craquer pour is a popular expression for falling in love or having a crush, while in Quebec, the phrase aimer fort is common to emphasize strong affection.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form aimer is the infinitive. It is used after other verbs, such as vouloir (to want) or pouvoir (to be able to).
How do you pronounce it?
aimer is pronounced /ɛ.me/ and consists of 2 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful when expressing affection for friends. English speakers often use aimer alone to mean 'to like' a friend, but in French, using aimer alone implies romantic love. To say you 'like' a friend, you should use aimer bien instead.
Did you know?
- In French, the term coup de foudre is used to describe love at first sight. It literally translates to 'a bolt of lightning', capturing the suddenness of the feeling.
- The word aimer is a direct descendant of the Latin verb amō, which is also the root of English words like 'amiable' and 'amorous'.
- The French language distinguishes between aimer for people and aimer for things. Using the word beaucoup with a person changes the meaning from 'to love' to 'to like a lot'.
Examples in context
- Aimer c'est être seul.To love is to be alone.Tatoeba #6160720 by felix63, translation #6159329 by carlosalberto
- Je ne t'aimerai jamais.I'm never going to love you.Tatoeba #5939875 by Rovo, translation #5938179 by CK
- Je suis né pour t'aimer.I was born to love you.Tatoeba #10448 by sacredceltic, translation #68812 by Ricardo14
- J'aime votre travailI love your work
- J'adore ParisI love Paris
- Je kiffe cette sérieI love this TV series
- Je t'aime fortI love you a lot
- Je craque pour toiI'm falling for you
- Je t'aimeI love you
- Je t'aime beaucoupI love you very much
- Je vous aime énormémentI love you tremendously
- Mon amour pour toi est infiniMy love for you is infinite
- 64 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is talking about their future together.
- EmmaJe veux t'aimer pour toujours.I want to love you forever.
- NathanEt moi, je t'aimerai aussi.And I, I will love you too.
- EmmaC'est tellement beau, Nathan.It is so beautiful, Nathan.
- NathanTu es l'amour de ma vie.You are the love of my life.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry aimer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aimer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
