Aimer, adorer, kiffer: understand the language of love in france

WE LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’ AND HOW NOT TO GET CONFUSED BY AMBIGUOUS VARIATIONS Are you a couple living in France who want to celebrate Valentine’s Day like the French

would? We look at the different ways to tell that special someone that you love them in French. JE T’AIME The most straightforward and meaningful way to say ‘I love you’ is _je t’aime_. _Je

t’aime_ is an emotionally charged phrase for French people. It is the highest expression of love that you can give someone and is only reserved to the people closest to you. If your French

partner tells you je t’aime, then you should have no doubt whatsoever about their feelings. _Je t’aime_ is hardly ever heard in commercials or casual settings, as it is considered by some to

be a public display of affection and therefore not to be said in company. French people will normally say it to their partners in private settings. A lot of French people consider it almost

sacred and only use it very occasionally. Others, especially younger people, use it more liberally and not just in a romantic sense. READ ALSO: ONLY FRENCH VILLAGE CALLED SAINT-VALENTIN

EMBRACES ROMANTIC LINKS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘JE T’AIME’ AND ‘JE T’ADORE’ Many English speakers think '_je t'adore_' is the most intimate way to say 'I love you',

because _adorer _translates to 'love' in English, and _aimer_ to 'like'. Saying _je t’adore_ to signify _je t’aime_ will not have the intended effect however, as the

expression is not equivalent. _J'adore_ is used to indicate fondness for people and things, without implying a romantic undertone. It is more so the equivalent of ‘I really like’ and is

often associated with a strong feeling of pleasure for something, whether it is an object, an idea, a person or a place. If someone says _je t’adore_, it doesn’t necessarily means he or she

is interested in you romantically, as _je t’adore_ can often be translated to a huge ‘thank you’, ‘thank you very much’ or ‘I like you very much’ when said to someone else. For example, at

a party, if a man meets a woman he finds very funny, he might turn to other people and say _j’adore cette fille_ (I love this girl) right in front of her. It does not have inherent romantic

connotations. _J’adore cette chanson_ means ‘I love this song’ and _j’aime cette chanson _would not really be used. Saying _j’aime_ here is not grammatically incorrect but it conveys an

indifference when employed for objects, as if you are just being polite. It would sound odd to a native speaker. Of course, the context of how these two are used is also important, and is

the most obvious clue to the strength of someone's words. ‘JE T’AIME’ VARIATIONS _Je t’aime_ can also be said in combination with another word in a variation on the traditional phrase.

Surprisingly, this usually lessens the intensity of the words’ meaning. Variations starting with_ je t’aime_ include_ je t’aime de tout mon coeur_, (with all of my heart), _je t’aime de tout

mon amour_ (with all of my love), _je t’aime du fond de mon coeur _(from the bottom of my heart), _je t’aime à la folie_ (I am crazy in love with you), _je t’aime à en mourir_ (I love you

so much I could die for you). These variations are generally used in written form and are not commonly used in spoken French. _Je t’aime bien_ is harder to interpret as it can both introduce

an undertone expressing greater feelings than friendship but can also simply mean ‘I like you’ platonically. CONVOLUTED WAYS _Tu me plais_ is an indication of someone’s interest for someone

else but it does not convey the same emotion as _je t’aime_. _Tu me plais_ is the equivalent of ‘I am fond of you’ or ‘I like you’, with romantic connotations. _Je t’aime beaucoup_ is a

similar case, although this expression is more often reserved for friends. Despite _beaucoup_ meaning a lot, it is less strong and intimate than a simple _je t’aime_. Both expressions are

likely to be used early on in a relationship before the more meaningful _je t’aime_. THE CASE FOR ‘JE TE KIFFE’ _Je te kiffe_ is the French slang version of _je t’adore_. The term comes from

the Arabic word _kiff_, which means ‘amusement’ or ‘pleasure’ and was introduced by immigrants coming from northern Africa. The word has been absorbed into French as the verb _kiffer_ and

acts as the slang equivalent of ‘to like’. When young people say: _Je kiffe cette meuf_ (I like that girl) or _je kiffe ce mec_ (I like that guy), it can definitely suggest that they are

interested in them, although not necessarily. READ MORE FIVE TIPS FOR DATING AND FINDING LOVE IN FRANCE ‘WINE FOR PEOPLE IN LOVE’: EXPLORING FRANCE’S TWO MOST ROMANTIC TOWNS