French Versions Of ''I love You'' And ''I Like You''

Everyone knows that I love you in French means "Je t'aime", even those who do not speak the language. But how does one say I like you in French?

The French have only one verb "aimer" to say I like you and I love you. 

The only way you can differentiate between the two expressions is when an adverb is added. This way when a francophone person uses the verb "aimer" you won't read meaning to it and think he/she is in love with you.

"Je t'aime" means "I love you" when translated word for word and the real meaning in English is "I love you".

"Je t'aime bien" means "I love you very much" but the real meaning is "I like you" or "I really like you".

"Je t'aime beaucoup" means "I love you so much" word for word but the real meaning is "I like you very much".

As you can see "beaucoup" or "bien" actually makes "aimer" weaker instead of stronger as one would assume it would do. So when someone says, "je t'aime beaucoup" or "je t'aime bien", it means "like" and has nothing to do with "love". If sex is involved and there is an adverb after "je t'aime", he/she does not love you but likes you (means the relationship is nothing serious so don't expect much)

In English, saying "I love you very much" is deeper than just saying "I love you". And when your boo tells you"I love you very much", you are going to say "he/she is crazy over me". It's the other way round in French. The adverb automatically decreases the intensity of the emotion expressed when added in the phrase and the person is in no way crazy about you.

NOTE 

Je t'aime ( used for family & lovers )

Je t'aime beaucoup / Je t'aime bien (used for very good friends)

Je t'adore ( can be used for family, friends, lovers etc. It means "I adore you" in French it does not in anyway replace "I love you" neither is it equal in meaning)

In France, when a man really loves a woman, he will never say to her "je t'aime bien", because this expression has nothing to do with the meaning of "love" in English.

It's either he says "je t'aime" or he says nothing because he is too shy to really express his feelings! In French, you add "bien" to "aimer" when you are talking about liking your laptop, your telephone, your dog, etc,.

When two adults use "Je t'aime bien" they are just sex partners, nothing serious, nothing deep, just sex. They won't refer to one another as boyfriend/girlfriend.

When you love in French, it's either you love him/her "je t'aime" ou you don't love. If a French man says to his wife "je t'aime bien", she would be hurt. You cannot say that to your children either.

During the time my husband and I were dating, when he says "je t'aime", I used to reply with "je t'aime beaucoup". One day, he finally said I think "I love you more than you love me" and I was like "why would you say that". He then said that it is because I always say "je t'aime beaucoup" which is not a feeling as strong as simply saying "je t'aime". He said "one does not say this to someone in a romantic sense".  

I also saw a film once where a girl said to a guy "You know that 'je t'aime bien' ", and he replied "I don't want you to 'm'aimes bien', I want you to 'm'aimes' ".

This is one of the reasons why google translate and others will never give a 100% correct translation. 

In French, to say "I love you", when you really mean it, without being misunderstood or misinterpreted, just say simply "Je t'aime".

BY BLOG VISITOR 

Ayo DEFORGE who lives in France

So who loves me and likes me?hehehehhehehhehehehhehe those of you looking for oyibo boos,in case you meet a french one,e no go hard profess love nau.