Love in Different Languages
Discover 'Love' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Love
Afrikaans liefde | ||
Albanian dashuri | ||
Amharic ፍቅር | ||
Arabic حب | ||
Armenian սեր | ||
Assamese ভালপোৱা | ||
Aymara munaña | ||
Azerbaijani sevgi | ||
Bambara kanu | ||
Basque maitasuna | ||
Belarusian каханне | ||
Bengali ভালবাসা | ||
Bhojpuri प्यार | ||
Bosnian ljubavi | ||
Bulgarian любов | ||
Catalan amor | ||
Cebuano gugma | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 爱 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 愛 | ||
Corsican amore | ||
Croatian ljubav | ||
Czech milovat | ||
Danish kærlighed | ||
Dhivehi ލޯބި | ||
Dogri हिरख | ||
Dutch liefde | ||
English love | ||
Esperanto amo | ||
Estonian armastus | ||
Ewe lɔ̃ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) pag-ibig | ||
Finnish rakkaus | ||
French amour | ||
Frisian leafde | ||
Galician amor | ||
Georgian სიყვარული | ||
German liebe | ||
Greek αγάπη | ||
Guarani mborayhu | ||
Gujarati પ્રેમ | ||
Haitian Creole lanmou | ||
Hausa soyayya | ||
Hawaiian aloha | ||
Hebrew אהבה | ||
Hindi प्रेम | ||
Hmong kev hlub | ||
Hungarian szeretet | ||
Icelandic ást | ||
Igbo ịhụnanya | ||
Ilocano ayat | ||
Indonesian cinta | ||
Irish grá | ||
Italian amore | ||
Japanese 愛 | ||
Javanese katresnan | ||
Kannada ಪ್ರೀತಿ | ||
Kazakh махаббат | ||
Khmer ស្រឡាញ់ | ||
Kinyarwanda urukundo | ||
Konkani मोग | ||
Korean 사랑 | ||
Krio lɔv | ||
Kurdish evîn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) خۆشەویستی | ||
Kyrgyz сүйүү | ||
Lao ຮັກ | ||
Latin amare | ||
Latvian mīlestība | ||
Lingala bolingo | ||
Lithuanian meilė | ||
Luganda okwagala | ||
Luxembourgish léift | ||
Macedonian убов | ||
Maithili प्रेम | ||
Malagasy fitiavana | ||
Malay cinta | ||
Malayalam സ്നേഹം | ||
Maltese imħabba | ||
Maori aroha | ||
Marathi प्रेम | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯅꯨꯡꯁꯤꯕ | ||
Mizo hmangaihna | ||
Mongolian хайр | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အချစ် | ||
Nepali माया | ||
Norwegian kjærlighet | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chikondi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ପ୍ରେମ | ||
Oromo jaalala | ||
Pashto مينه | ||
Persian عشق | ||
Polish miłość | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) amor | ||
Punjabi ਪਿਆਰ | ||
Quechua kuyay | ||
Romanian dragoste | ||
Russian люблю | ||
Samoan alofa | ||
Sanskrit स्नेहः | ||
Scots Gaelic ghaoil | ||
Sepedi lerato | ||
Serbian љубав | ||
Sesotho lerato | ||
Shona rudo | ||
Sindhi پيار | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ආදරය | ||
Slovak láska | ||
Slovenian ljubezen | ||
Somali jacayl | ||
Spanish amor | ||
Sundanese bogoh | ||
Swahili upendo | ||
Swedish kärlek | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) pag-ibig | ||
Tajik дӯст доштан | ||
Tamil காதல் | ||
Tatar мәхәббәт | ||
Telugu ప్రేమ | ||
Thai ความรัก | ||
Tigrinya ፍቅሪ | ||
Tsonga rirhandzu | ||
Turkish aşk | ||
Turkmen söýgi | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔdɔ | ||
Ukrainian кохання | ||
Urdu محبت | ||
Uyghur مۇھەببەت | ||
Uzbek sevgi | ||
Vietnamese yêu và quý | ||
Welsh cariad | ||
Xhosa uthando | ||
Yiddish ליבע | ||
Yoruba ife | ||
Zulu uthando |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "liefde" is derived from the Old Dutch word "liefde", meaning "affection, fondness, or devotion". It is related to the English word "lief", meaning "dear". |
| Albanian | The word 'dashuri' is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *deḱ-, signifying 'love' or 'relationship'. |
| Amharic | "ፍቅር" also means "an agreement" in legal contexts, like a contract or treaty. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "حب" (hubb) encompasses a range of meanings, including compassion, affection, desire, and kinship. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "Սեր" (ser) has alternate meanings of "affection, desire, and passion". |
| Azerbaijani | Sevgi's etymology traces back to the Old Turkic word "Sevgi," meaning "to be attached to." |
| Basque | The Basque word "maitasuna" also means "affection", "friendship" or "charity" depending on the context. |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "каханне" has Germanic roots and is related to the German word "König" (king). |
| Bengali | The term "ভালবাসা" ('bhalobasha') can carry connotations analogous to 'affection' as opposed to a romantic connotation in English, and can sometimes extend even beyond this to mean something as basic as 'liking' something, depending on context. |
| Bosnian | The word "ljubavi" in Bosnian traces its roots back to the Proto-Slavic term "ljubъ" meaning "dear," and it retains this sense of affection and closeness in its modern usage. |
| Bulgarian | The word “любов” in Bulgarian is related to the word “lieben” in German and can also mean “a favourite.” |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "amor" can also refer to the feeling of affection shared between family members, similar to the English word "affection." |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "gugma" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian word "*gusma", which also means "to desire" or "to yearn for". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "爱" in Chinese is composed of the radicals "心" (heart) and "又" (to give), suggesting the idea of "giving one's heart". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "愛" can also mean "to pity" or "to care for". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word “amore” is derived from the Latin word “amor,” meaning love, and has the same meaning in Corsican. |
| Croatian | While the Croatian word ljuбав means 'love', it's cognate with the Russian word lyubov', meaning 'grace' or 'favor'. |
| Czech | Milovat also means to have pity in Czech, similar to the English 'compassion' which stems from the Latin word meaning 'to suffer with'. |
| Danish | Kærlighed, meaning 'love' in Danish, traces its roots back to an Old Norse term denoting affection or desire. |
| Dutch | The Dutch word 'liefde' originates from the Germanic word 'liuba', which means 'dear' or 'beloved'. |
| Esperanto | "Am" in Esperanto comes from the Latin "amare," and "o" is a common ending for Esperanto nouns. |
| Estonian | The word "armastus" is derived from the Indo-European root *men-, meaning "to think" or "to care for". |
| Finnish | Etymology unknown, but possibly related to 'rakentaa' ('to build') or 'rakkauden' ('of love'). |
| Frisian | Leafde (love) is related to the Dutch word 'liefde' (love), and the German word 'Liebe' (love). |
| Galician | In Galician "amor" also refers to an emotional attachment to something that is not a person. |
| German | The word Liebe in German comes from the Proto-Germanic word **lubō**, meaning 'agreeable, dear, desirable' |
| Greek | The word "αγάπη" (love) in Greek also has connotations of affection, goodwill, and charity. |
| Gujarati | Gujarati 'પ્રેમ' is a direct cognate of the Sanskrit 'preman' which also has meanings of 'devotion', 'affection', and 'attachment'. |
| Haitian Creole | Lanmou in Haitian Creole is a cognate of the French "amour" and also shares the same roots as "lumen" and "illuminate" in Latin, hinting at its meaning as a light-giving emotion. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word 'soyayya' also means 'affection' or 'care'. |
| Hawaiian | Aloha can also mean affection, compassion, mercy, or sympathy. |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "प्रेम" has ancient Sanskrit roots and can encompass various meanings such as affection, fondness, or romantic love. |
| Hmong | "Kev hlub" can also mean "affection" or "compassion" in Hmong. |
| Hungarian | The word "szeretet" in Hungarian is derived from the verb "szeretni", meaning "to hold dear" or "to cherish". |
| Icelandic | The word 'ást' in Icelandic is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic root *astiz, meaning 'favour, grace' or 'joy'. |
| Igbo | "Ịhụnanya" in Igbo can also mean "care" or "compassion". |
| Irish | The Irish word "grá" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ǵʰer-/*ǵʰreh- " to desire, to be greedy, to grasp." |
| Italian | "Amore" derives from the Latin word "amores", meaning both "love" and "sweetheart". |
| Japanese | 愛 (ai) in Japanese can also refer to affection, kindness, or compassion. |
| Javanese | "Katresnan" in Javanese is derived from the word "tresna", meaning "desire", "longing", or "passion." |
| Kannada | "ಪ್ರೀತಿ" is thought to be derived from the word "ಅಪ್ರೀತಿ" (apreeti), meaning "disinclination," implying that love is the opposite of disliking someone." |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "махаббат", while commonly translated as "love," also describes strong affection for family, friends, and homeland. |
| Khmer | The term is also used to describe a protective feeling towards a child or sibling. |
| Korean | 사랑 (love) can also mean 'thought', 'desire', or 'yearning'; its root is '사리다' (to think) |
| Kurdish | The word "evîn" in Kurdish can also refer to "desire" or "affection". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "сүйүү" in Kyrgyz can also refer to affection towards a child or a pet. |
| Lao | The Lao word "ຮັກ" (love) is also used to express affection, compassion, and desire. |
| Latin | Latin **amare** (love) derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁(s)-, meaning 'to fit' or 'to be willing'. |
| Latvian | The word "mīlestība" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*melh₁-", meaning "to grind". |
| Lithuanian | "Meilė" in Lithuanian is a derivative of the Proto-Slavic word *meile, meaning "pity" or "mercy." |
| Luxembourgish | Alternately, Léift means 'dear, darling, sweetheart,' a term of endearment and affection similar to the English word 'dearest'. |
| Malagasy | "fitiavana" (pronounced fih-ty-a-va-nah) is derived from the root word "tia", meaning "to want", and the suffix "-vana", which indicates a state or quality." |
| Maltese | The Maltese word 'imħabba' also means 'affection' and is derived from the Arabic word 'maħabba' meaning 'love', 'affection' or 'friendship'. |
| Maori | The Maori word "Aroha" encompasses a range of emotions beyond romantic love, including empathy, compassion, and a deep spiritual connection. |
| Marathi | "प्रेम" stems from the Sanskrit "प्री" meaning fondness, affection or liking, and shares the Indo-European root with "friendship". |
| Mongolian | The word хайр also means "good fortune", "wealth", or "luck" in Mongolian. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word 'माया' also refers to a philosophical concept that explores the illusory nature of reality and the attachment to worldly possessions. |
| Norwegian | The word 'kjærlighet' is derived from the Old Norse word 'kærleikr', meaning 'affection' or 'goodwill'. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, "chikondi" also refers to the feeling of affection between relatives, friends, and even non-sentient beings. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "مينه" also refers to a type of flower, specifically the jasmine flower. |
| Persian | The Persian word “eᠵq” has a dual etymology, deriving from both Middle Persian and Arabic. |
| Polish | The Polish word "miłość" (love), akin to Russian "милый" (cute), has also the archaic meaning of "dear, beloved" and is often used as a term of endearment. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "amor" in Portuguese is derived from the Latin word "amor", which means "affection, love, desire". |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word "pyār" has a wide range of meanings depending on the context, including affection, attachment, infatuation, and reverence. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "dragoste" has Proto-Indo-European roots in the same family as the English word "dear." |
| Russian | "Люблю" can also mean "I like" or "I am fond of" in Russian. |
| Samoan | While alofa primarily means 'love' in Samoan, it can also refer to a person's sweetheart or a close friend. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word 'ghaoil' is thought to mean 'stranger' or 'someone who is loved' in Irish Gaelic. |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "љубав" has cognates in Old Church Slavonic and Sanskrit |
| Sesotho | "Lerato" derives from the root "-ratola", meaning "to be pleasant, delightful". |
| Shona | "Rudo" can also mean "peace" or "quiet" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word “پیار” also has connotations of affection and attachment. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "ආදරය" (love) also refers to warmth and kindness, and can extend beyond the romantic or intimate sense of love. |
| Slovak | The word "láska" in Slovak is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *ljubъ, meaning "dear" or "beloved." |
| Slovenian | The word ljubezen ('love') is derived from the Proto-Slavic *ľubъ ('dear'), related to Latin lubido ('passion') and Old English leof ('dear'). |
| Somali | The Somali word 'jacayl' is derived from the Arabic word 'hubb', meaning 'passion' or 'affection'. |
| Spanish | The Latin etymology of 'amor' connects it to concepts of 'binding' and 'desire'. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "bogoh" can also mean "affection" or "like". |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "upendo" can also mean "charity" or "grace." |
| Swedish | "Kärlek" can also mean affection, passion, or charity. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Pag-ibig" in Tagalog literally means "to give" or "to share something," emphasizing the selfless and giving nature of love. |
| Tajik | The word "дӯст доштан" ("love") comes from the Persian "دوست داشتن," which literally means "to have friends" in Persian. |
| Tamil | The Tamil word 'காதல்' (kaadhal) originates from the Proto-Dravidian root 'kad', meaning 'bond or affection', and also has connotations of 'earnest desire' and 'longing'. |
| Telugu | The word "ప్రేమ" comes from the Proto-Dravidian root "*pir-" meaning "to love, to desire". |
| Thai | In Thai, "ความรัก" (love) can also refer to "compassion" or "affection" for someone or something. |
| Turkish | "Aşk" has a root in Sanskrit as "iṣṭa" meaning "desired" and Persian as "išt" meaning "fond of". |
| Ukrainian | "Кохання" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*xotěti," meaning "to desire, to want." |
| Urdu | محبت was borrowed into Urdu from Persian and ultimately derives from Arabic; it can also mean 'affection' or 'kindness'. |
| Uzbek | Sevgi originated from the Sogdian language and also means "affection", "compassion", and "attachment." |
| Vietnamese | Yêu, meaning "to love", and quý, meaning "to respect", are often used together in Vietnamese to express "love and respect." |
| Welsh | Welsh 'cariad' has a range of synonyms, including 'affections', 'delight' and 'passion' and was used to mean 'friend'. |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, "uthando" can also refer to affection, fondness, or adoration. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "libe" also means "belief" and comes from the verb "libn" to believe. |
| Yoruba | 'Ìfé' is both the name of the Yoruba city where Orunmila established Ifa divination and also means 'to select' or 'to love'. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "uthando" has no direct English equivalent and encompasses several aspects of affection including: love, passion, and compassion. |
| English | The word 'love' derives from Old English and Proto-Indo-European roots referring to affection, desire, and care. |