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I love you in different languages

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OlafP
Triglot
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Germany
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Speaks: German*, French, English

 
 Message 25 of 58
09 June 2010 at 11:58pm | IP Logged 
ember wrote:
Could German native speakers explain something to me: when I was in Germany, I sometimes heard the expression "Ich hab' dich lieb" instead of "Ich liebe dich". That was said by lovers, not friends. So what's the difference? Does it signify less attachement/ not so deep feelings?


"Ich hab' dich lieb" is less dramatic. It doesn't necessarily express less attachment. You could use it in a platonic relationship as well but it's right at the edge, and you should be sure that it can't be misunderstood. In a way its impact depends a bit on the intonation. It can sound harmless or quite serious. If you think that you can make a fool of yourself when saying "Ich liebe dich" then "Ich hab' dich lieb" is a good alternative, but it can mean the same. In general you wouldn't use the strongest expression available too often but leave it for situations that are special in one way or another.


edit: typo

Edited by OlafP on 10 June 2010 at 12:13am

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Olympia
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Old English, French

 
 Message 26 of 58
10 June 2010 at 12:18am | IP Logged 
The only Spanish-speaking country I have spent a decent amount of time in is Mexico, and I have observed that
mostly people use "te amo" for "I love you." "Te quiero" was occasionally used, but only in very casual situations.
My former Argentine Spanish teacher always said that "te amo" was almost exclusively for use between married
couples or people with deep romantic love for one another, and that "te quiero" is used among friends and family. I
believe "me gustas" is slightly antiquated, but can still be found in Spain and parts of Latin America. But I'm not a
native speaker so I don't claim to be an expert.

In Portuguese, I believe that "amo-te," though correct in all dialects of Portuguese, is more commonly used in
Europe. In Brazil I think it is much more common to say "eu te amo" or "eu amo você." I've heard "eu te quero" a
couple of times as well, but I don't think it's as common as the other two. Again, I'm not a native speaker, but this
is what I've been told/observed.
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akprocks
Senior Member
United States
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178 posts - 258 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: German

 
 Message 27 of 58
10 June 2010 at 3:11am | IP Logged 
nakuaqqunaich is 'I love you' in the iñupiaq eskimo language.
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ateo
Triglot
Newbie
United States
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3 posts - 4 votes
Speaks: Italian, Spanish, English*
Studies: Portuguese, Gujarati

 
 Message 28 of 58
10 June 2010 at 6:24pm | IP Logged 
Hindi: Mujhe tumse pyar hai.
Gujarati: U tane prem karu chu.

Some people posted about Italian "ti voglio bene" vs. "ti amo" -- TVB (as abbreviated often in SMS-speak) is broader and can be used with family members, close friends, etc. "Ti amo" is more for lovers.

In Spanish "me gustas" is pretty straight-up sexual, even coarse (think Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" for the kind of affection this represents).
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patuco
Diglot
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Gibraltar
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Personal Language Map

 
 Message 29 of 58
10 June 2010 at 10:58pm | IP Logged 
ateo wrote:
In Spanish "me gustas" is pretty straight-up sexual, even coarse

Really? I would have thought that it's more childish, the sort of thing that an awkward teenager might say to another. Goes to show the differences in Spanish in different parts of the world.
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Solfrid Cristin
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Winner TAC 2011 & 2012
Senior Member
Norway
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Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian
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 Message 30 of 58
10 June 2010 at 11:07pm | IP Logged 
patuco wrote:
ateo wrote:
In Spanish "me gustas" is pretty straight-up sexual, even coarse

Really? I would have thought that it's more childish, the sort of thing that an awkward teenager might say to another. Goes to show the differences in Spanish in different parts of the world.


I totally agree with you Patuco - but then again we come from roughly the same neighbourhood :-). As I said, it was commonly used when I was in my late teens/ early twenties in Andalucía.
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QuizD
Triglot
Newbie
United States
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Speaks: German*, English, Japanese

 
 Message 31 of 58
20 June 2010 at 11:02am | IP Logged 
Mi amas vin in Esperanto
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Tally
Bilingual Diglot
Senior Member
Israel
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Speaks: English*, Modern Hebrew*
Studies: French

 
 Message 32 of 58
20 June 2010 at 11:13am | IP Logged 
Is it true that till recently the Japanese language didn't have the expression 'I love
you'?


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