How to Say "I Love You" in German

After Glory Lennon gave us such great insight into how to say "I love you" in Spanish, I will do the same with German today.

First of all, there are two ways to say it. It depends on who you say it to. If you say it to a lover, for example, you say "Ich liebe dich". This implies really strong feelings and is normally exclusively used for lovers, though it can be said to parents or children too. It would look very strange, however, if you said this to a good friend.

For all other persons, there is the term "Ich hab dich lieb" or, more common, the shorter version without the personal pronoun: "Hab dich lieb!"

You use the latter at the end of a letter, email or text message, for example, or in everyday speech. As you don't just tell anyone that you love him or her, the term "(Ich) hab dich lieb" is usually used towards family (parents, children, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles etc) and close friends for whom you feel strongly. It is more common among female friends and I guess most guys would shoot you a weird glance if you told them "Ich hab dich lieb."

A few examples:

When you talk to your lover, you tell him "Ich liebe dich."

Towards your parents or children, you can either use "Ich liebe dich" or "Ich hab dich lieb", whereas the latter is more common.

Within family relations, you usually use "(Ich) hab dich lieb."

If you are a girl, you might say to your close female friends or gay male friends "Hab dich lieb."

If you are a boy and not gay, you will likely get weird looks if you say to anyone of your friends "Hab dich lieb."

Finally, thanks to Glory Lennon, the Beatles Song "She Loves You in German" (I didn't even know that song before...) :)

There’s a word in Spanish...

In an Elton John song from the 80’s he sings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuZfnt69m0&feature=related

“There’s a word in Spanish, I don’t understand,

But I heard it in a film one time spoken by the leading man,

He said it with devotion, he sounded so sincere,

And the word he spoke in Spanish brought the female lead to tears….”

Could there truly be a word so powerful in any language?

As it turns out, yes. In every language there is such a word. That word is love in its various forms. The phrase “I love you” although often heard--at times misused, at others abused--still evokes a great deal of emotion. When it is spoken in an unfamiliar language, however, something special happens. Suddenly, the words “I love you” sound exotic and they seem to mean more. So, this concept of “A word in Spanish” evoking great emotion isn’t that far-fetched.

Actually, there is not just one word in Spanish which could do that. Very likely this word or phrase of which Elton John spoke in the song was “Te amo”. Of course, it could also be “Te quiero”.

Yes, there are two distinct ways to say “I love you” in Spanish.

Do you remember the little Mexican Chihuahua of Taco Bell fame? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8sZ1DWsAHE

He was the mascot in the highly successful advertisement back in 1997 and his catch phase (Yes, the dog could talk. I didn’t say it made sense.) was “Yo quiero Taco Bell”. Well, the translation they gave was “I want some Taco Bell” but it could just as easily have been interpreted as “I love Taco Bell”.

“Te quiero” could be taken two ways, you see. It can mean “I love you” and also “I want you”. Two rather different concepts, yet sometimes they are used interchangeably, especially in the heat of the moment! The only way to know for certain which meaning is implied when you hear your lover saying “Yo te quiero” is…well, you would be the best judge of that. ;-)

It may have been this confusion with “Te quiero” that forced the Spanish language to come up with another method for saying “I love you”. “Te amo” is a more passionate form of “I love you”. It is to be said exclusively between lovers while “Te quiero” could be used for the expression of love to any family member, relative or friends.

It is safe to say the intensity of love felt will determine the particular phrase to use. Of course, you could always say both at once and just be done with it.

“Yo te quiero desir que yo te amo”

Translation: “I want to tell you that I love you.”

I think that may work.

Thanks again to Glory Lennon for her insights into the Spanish language! She is a freelance writer and avid blogger about gardening. You can find her writing at:

Glory's Stories, Glory's Teen Stories, Violets in Bloom