French Love Vocabulary

Romantic couple in French cafe
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French is often called the language of love. Here is some love-related French vocabulary. To know how to say "I love you" in French is more complicated than what it seems and not knowing exactly what you are saying could lead to a huge embarrassment, I suggest you check out my lesson about "How To Say I Love You in French".

French Love Vocabulary

  • L'amour: love
  • L'amitié: friendship
  • Mon amour: my love (could be used as a French term of endearment, either for a man or a woman)
  • Mon chéri, ma chérie: darling (note the "i" sound at the end)
  • Je t'aime: I am in love with you
  • Je l'aime: I am in love with him/her
  • Je suis amoureux / amoureuse de toi, lui, elle, vous...: I am in love with you, him, her, you (formal or... plural !)
  • Tomber Amoureux / amoureuse: to fall in love (not tomber en amour which is used in Canadian French but not in France)
  • Est-ce que tu veux sortir avoir moi: would you like to go out with me?
  • Est-ce que tu veux bien m'épouser: would you marry me? The bien here means "are you willing to marry me", but it's what we traditionally say.
  • To kiss: embrasser, s'embrasser. Not "baiser"... I'm sorry to be vulgar but you need to be aware that "un baiser" is fine, it' a kiss, but "baiser" as a verb nowadays means to f..k.
  • A kiss: un baiser, un bisou
  • Les fiançailles: engagement
  • Se fiancer: to get engaged
  • Un fiancé, une fiancée: someone you are engaged to. But sometimes used to say someone you are just dating.
  • Le mariage: marriage, wedding (only one R in French)
  • Se marier avec qq'un: to get married with someone
  • Épouser quelqu'un: to marry someone
  • La lune de miel: Honeymoon
  • Un mari: a husband
  • Une femme: a wife
  • Un petit-ami: a boyfriend
  • Une petite-amie: a girlfriend
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Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. "French Love Vocabulary." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/french-love-vocabulary-1371469. Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. (2023, April 5). French Love Vocabulary. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-love-vocabulary-1371469 Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. "French Love Vocabulary." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-love-vocabulary-1371469 (accessed April 26, 2024).