10 Easy Ways To Say I Love You In Japanese Today

Ling Learn Languages
5 min readAug 23, 2021

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Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/ja/i-love-you-in-japanese/

Declaring love by saying I love you in Japanese is not common among the locals even if they have been together for quite a time. In fact, they do not take the word lightly, and most people in a serious relationship mainly demonstrate their love through actions instead of verbalizing it. In this post, we will walk you through some of the most common ways to say I love you in the Japanese language, as well as the usual romantic phrases you can use with your special someone. If you are up for that, then let’s start learning!

Did you know that many Japanese people do not use universal Western lines like “please marry me?” or “will you spend the rest of your life with me?” Instead of using cheesy words, you might be surprised at some of the traditional expressions like the following:

As you probably can notice from the table above, the Japanese people are not direct when it comes to expressing their feelings. This is because their culture puts a premium on emotional suppression to promote better relationships with the people around them. For this reason, it is common not to see the Japanese smile ear to ear or frown may they be at school, at work, or at home.

However, just because they are not used to expressing feelings does not mean that they are not good at expressing romantic love. In fact, they have some super sweet lines that will make it feel difficult for you to control the butterflies! Check on below to find out.

10 Ways To Say I Love You In Japanese

Whether you have a special someone in Japan or are merely trying to expand your vocabulary, learning how to express love and sincere affection in the most natural ways in Japanese culture can significantly help you out. But before we give you the translations, allow us to walk you through some of the cultural norms first.

  • In Japan, “love” is a word that is only reserved for couples or for your long-time partner. It is not common to hear the locals say “I love you” to their friends, pets, or family members.
  • Due to the influence of the Westerners on Japan, the younger Japanese people are now starting to say I love you more often, but they mainly use the casual form instead of the masu (ます)form.
  • Whether you are just on a date or already a couple, a Japanese partner will always have the acts-of-service or gifting as a love language.
  • If ever you say I love you in Japanese but did not get any response, please do not be offended since it is truly not natural to them to say it back right away.
  • The word love can be translated into two words, and these are 愛 (ai) or 恋 (koi). Ai refers to romantic love, while Koi describes the feeling of being in love.
  • The best time for a confession or 告白 (kokuhaku) is after the third official date with your special someone.
  • When chatting online, you might see Japanese people saying ドキドキ (dokidoki), and this translates to the sound of a fast-beating heart.

Now that we know the basics let’s discuss the 10 expressions you must master to say I love you like a native. For the expressions below, please note that most of these are casual, but if you want it to sound formal/polite, you can simply add the word desu or です. For instance, we can say suki desu or daisuki desu.

Expressing Love In Japanese Through Terms Of Endearment

Now that we know what each of those lovely phrases literally means in English, allow us to walk you through some of the common terms of endearment used by the locals to call their special person.

As we reach this part of the post, we hope that you were able to learn and that you’ll have the courage to say I love you in the Japanese language like a real pro. If you enjoyed this article, we highly recommend that you review our other language tips related to Japanese, like the basic greetings, the popular local foods to try out in Japanese, and three facts you do not know about the Japanese language.

But before you jump off, allow me to ask you a question… would you like to master the Japanese language and start speaking it the way locals do? Contrary to common belief, you do not have to spend on expensive books just to learn the basics because we’ve got a FREE language learning tool that will help you improve in Japanese and other foreign languages in no time. So read on below to find out!

Master Japanese Today!

There is no denying that Japanese is indeed one of the trickiest Asian languages to learn, but it does not mean that mastering it is impossible. While you do need to set aside time and create a good learning program for yourself, having the correct tools can help you learn the intricacies in no time. Our advice? Download the Ling App today!

The Ling App by Simya Solutions is available for free and can be accessed using its web platform and mobile application. It was developed with the aim of providing language learners an opportunity to expose themselves to over 60+ languages and help them improve even with just 10 minutes of usage! This is an ideal tool for students and professionals looking to understand the basic writing system (hiragana, katakana, and kanji), the common phrases, and the vocabulary words used by the locals.

So, what are you waiting for? Download this app on Google Play and AppStore and start sounding more natural in Japanese!

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Ling Learn Languages
Ling Learn Languages

Written by Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!

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