# I love to ...



## ThomasK

In Dutch we often say : 

*'Ik zie je graag'* [I love to see you or more literally : 'I see you with pleasure' anyone having a better paraphrase)], 

also *'Ik heb je graag'*  [I have you with pleasure]. 

Is that special ? Are there other paraphrases of loving in other languages, I wonder ?


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## jazyk

Czech _Mám tě rád(a) _is just like Ik heb je graag.


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## brian

Same in German: _Ich hab Dich gern_, or a little stronger _Ich hab Dich lieb._

But I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you want to know if in other languages there is a roundabout way of saying I love you which is *just as strong* as saying I love you? Also, what kind of love is this? Romantic? Familial?

In Italian, for example, you can say _Ti voglio bene_ (literally: "I want you well") to your mom to say "I love you," not in a romantic sense, _or_ you could say it to a girlfriend to say "I love you" in a somewhat romantic sense; but you would say _Ti amo_ to a serious girlfriend/your wife to say "I love you" (although you can still say _Ti voglio bene_ even to your wife, but it's slightly different).


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## ThomasK

Interesting question: I was really thinking of the romantic 'phrase'. 'ik zie je graag' can be both, I must admit, but I am simply wondering about any metaphors (or other expressions) for saying 'I love you'. 

_(Next thread will be about comparisons like 'You are [like] a rose/ ...' ;-))_


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## brian

Hmm okay. Then:

*German:*
normal/literal: _Ich liebe Dich._
other expressions: _Ich hab Dich gern_, _Ich hab Dich lieb_ (stronger).

*Italian:*
normal/literal: _Ti amo._
other expressions: _Ti voglio (tanto) bene._

*Spanish:*
normal/literal: _Te amo._
other expressions: _Te quiero._

*French:*
normal/literal: _Je t'aime._
other expressions: _Je t'aime bien/beaucoup, Je t'adore._

But again, this is a really complicated issue: in some languages you can only use the normal/literal translation with your significant other, in other languages you can use it with family members too, and in other languages you don't actually even use the normal/literal one with your significant other but rather something else.


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## origumi

On the other direction: Latin "amabo te", literally "I shall love you", means simply "please".


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## Miguel Antonio

brian8733 said:


> *Spanish:*
> normal/literal: _Te amo._
> other expressions: _Te quiero._


In Spain, the normal, common way of saying "I love you" is _te quiero_ (literally, I want you). The literal _te amo_ is hardly used in colloquial speech. The same goes for Portuguese (in Portugal) _quero-te_ and Galician _quérote. _In Catalan they say _estimo._


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## Volcano

*In Turkish, seni görmek büyük bir zevk.*


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## ThomasK

Spanish 'Te quiero sounds like the (romantic...) *'I want you'* in English, implying one needs someone. 

Turkish: according to a translation machine it must be something like* 'I'll be pleased to meet (or see ?) you [again ?]'*. Is that correct ?


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## Volcano

*It is a great pleasure to see you again - Seni tekrar görmek büyük bir zevk

I will be pleased to see you again - Seni tekrar görmek beni mutlu edecek*


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## pacha18

In irish, one way of saying 'I love you' is _tá mé i ngrá leat_ which directly means _I am in love with you._


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## ThomasK

if Volcano is still there: saying that you want to see someone again, is saying that you love that person ? It seemed a little bizarre to me at first, but it is not that strange when comparing with Dutch ('I like seeing you' or something the like). 

Just wondering about '*in *love' (in English and Turkish): does the 'in' somehow imply a spatial reference ? In other ways: are there other expressions in either language where one says one is *IN (some state of) 'emotion'* ? (I suddenly thought of 'be in pain'...)


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## Amante_de_limbi

_Spanish:
_*Me encanta...* - I love...(for things that aren't people, such as movies, music, etc.)
_
Romanian:_
*Te iubesc* - I love you (most commom)
*Te ador* - I adore/love you
*Mi-e drag de tine - *I love you
*Mi-e drag... - *I love... (similar to the *me encanta* in _Spanish_ mentioned above.)


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## ThomasK

Very interesting, but  think the 'encanta' (enchanter, enchanting) is not very literally referring to love. It is like putting a spell on someone, and that can be a result of love, but is not a synonym. But interesting for a separate thread. 

I am just wondering about the precise meaning fo _iubesc_ and _drag,_ especially as the subject of the latter is impersonal again...


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## ahshav

In Hebrew, one way to say I like something or someone is to say that (the object) "has found grace in my eyes."

מוצא חן בעיני - motze hen b'ainay


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## ThomasK

Thanks, but is that still 'love' ? That reminds me of 'I fancy you' (in english, hope I am not mistaken): is that love ??? 

I think the best thing we can do is confine our search in this thread on those that clearly refer to 'love'. I would not mind trying to find synonyms for 'fascinate' (etc.) in another thread...


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## Amante_de_limbi

ThomasK said:


> Very interesting, but  think the 'encanta' (enchanter, enchanting) is not very literally referring to love. It is like putting a spell on someone, and that can be a result of love, but is not a synonym. But interesting for a separate thread.
> 
> I am just wondering about the precise meaning fo _iubesc_ and _drag,_ especially as the subject of the latter is impersonal again...



Well, *iubire* means "love" & *iubi *is the infinitive for "to love." So, *te iubesc* literally means "I love you."

As for the *mi-e...*, the construction is used for many phrases in Romanian, such as:
I miss - Mi-e dor (de)
I'm thirsty - Mi-e sete
It's hard/difficult for me - Mi-e greu

*Mi-e* is a shortened form of "îmi este" & literally means "To me it is" or "for me it is."

& *drag* most probably comes from *dragoste* which also means "love."

But, as I said before *te iubesc *is most commonly used to express love for a person while *mi-e drag (de)* is most commonly used to express a love for anything else.

Does this answer what you were wondering about?


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## Waterdash

ThomasK said:


> Very interesting, but  think the 'encanta' (enchanter, enchanting) is not very literally referring to love. It is like putting a spell on someone, and that can be a result of love, but is not a synonym. But interesting for a separate thread.
> 
> I am just wondering about the precise meaning fo _iubesc_ and _drag,_ especially as the subject of the latter is impersonal again...


I'm not an expert at Spanish, but I believe encanta is a false cognate in which I do not believe it can mean enchanter or enchanting. Encantar is more "to like a lot" if I'm not mistaken.


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## Amante_de_limbi

Perhaps the expression is a false congante, but "me encanta" _does_ literally means "it enchants me."


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## ThomasK

Glad to hear about "me encanta", and please forgive me, AdL, but i had been thinking the mi-e was an object form of a pronoun, that is why...


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## Miguel Antonio

Waterdash said:


> I'm not an expert at Spanish, but I believe encanta is a false cognate in which I do not believe it can mean enchanter or enchanting. Encantar is more "to like a lot" if I'm not mistaken.


For the sake of clarification, in Spain:
_Me encanta estar tirado en la playa sin hacer nada: _I love lying on the beach doing nothing.
_Tu mujer es (una persona) encantadora_: your wife is charming
_Tu mujer es encantadora de serpientes_: your wife is a snake-charmer
_Una casa encantada: _a haunted house.
_Encantado de conocerle: _pleased to meet you.


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## ThomasK

The funny thing to me is that this kind of love expression seems to ascribe this to a spell, and seems to minimize the own feelings: the source seems to be outside... 

But interesting. Yet, I think we ought to concentrate on expressions having a human (...) subject here... I'll just start a new thread...


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## Amante_de_limbi

ThomasK said:


> Glad to hear about "me encanta", and please forgive me, AdL, but i had been thinking the mi-e was an object form of a pronoun, that is why...



Haha, no worries!


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## ThomasK

I see there is an exchange going on at the Nordic German languages section focusing on 'like', I believe: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=7015455#post7015455...


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