This article was co-authored by Alexandra Hamer. Alexandra Hamer is a native German speaker and translator based in the Philippines. Alexandra has worked as an English-to-German translator for over 10 years. She first began translating Latin to German and has had a passion for translating and languages ever since. Alexandra is experienced in a variety of fields, from personal care to online research and jurisdictional proceedings. She constantly expands her knowledge of the English language through reading literature and texts and stays up to date on German spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules as well as any recent developments of the German language. Alexandra also has over 3 years of experience as a proofreader and news brief writer. In her spare time, she likes to study foreign languages.
There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Interested in how to say "I love you" in German? Well good for you. It's very simple and almost anyone can say it. Learn to impress someone with your German skills or express your feelings to your Schatzi.
Steps
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Say "I love you" by saying "Ich liebe dich."[1] We'll show you how to pronounce each single word, but phonetically it sounds something like this: [ɪç 'li:bə dɪç].
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Say "ich." This is the "I" in "I love you." The /ch/ sound in "ich," which is also called a voiceless palatal fricative, isn't pronounced the same way you would pronounce it in English.[2] It sounds something like the /j/ sound in Spanish, kind of like a snake hissing.
- The /ch/ sound is really hard for non-native speakers to master. Most English-speakers getting away with saying "ish," as in "finish" or "fish."
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Say "liebe." This is the "love" in "I love you." Say this slowly "lee-buh."[3] The "l" is pronounced normally but the "ie" is pronounced as "ee" like in "tree" and "bee." The "be" at the end of it is pronounced like the "b" in "burn." Put it together to form "liebe."
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Say "dich." The "ich" in "dich" is pronounced the same as "ich" in the first step.[4] "Dich" sounds similar to the English word "dish," except the /ch/ sound is produced in the middle of the mouth instead of the front.[5] This is the "you" in "I love you".
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Say "I have fallen in love with you." A different, albeit more formal, way of saying "I love you," this wording is very romantic. Here's how you say it: "Ich habe mich in dich verliebt."[6] The phonetic pronunciation is [ɪç 'ha:bə mɪç ɪn dɪç fɛɐ'li:pt].
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Say "I like you a lot." To say this: "Ich mag dich sehr," which literally translates to "I like you very" (although a bit smoother in German).[7] The phonetic pronunciation here is [ɪç ma:k dɪç ze:ɐ].
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Say "I like you." To say this: "Du gefällst mir."[8] The phonetic pronunciation here is [du: gə'fɛlst mi:ə].
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Add terms of endearment to your compliments. If you really want your compliments to leave a mark, be sure to add a term of endearment to your "I love you's." Here are two specifically that you can use:
- "Schatz," meaning "sweetheart" but literally "treasure."[9] Phonetically, it's pronounced [ʃats]. Try "Mein Schatz, ich liebe dich!" or "Ich liebe dich, Schatzi."
- "Liebling," meaning "darling." Phonetically, it's pronounced ['li:plɪŋ]. Try "Liebling, du bist so hübsch." ("Darling, you are so pretty.")
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat does "herzliche Grüße" mean?Community AnswerIt means "affectionate regards."
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QuestionHow would I say "I love your pictures" in German?Community Answer"Ich liebe Ihre Bilder."
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QuestionHow do I say "Hungary" in German?Community AnswerIn German, the word "Hungary" would be translated to "Ungarn", which is pronounced "Un-gun".
Video
Tips
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Be careful to pronounce words correctly so you can be understood and do not need to go through slight embarrassment of having to repeat yourself.Thanks
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Smile when you say it.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
- The /ch/ depends on what part of Germany you are in, but for standard German used in Berlin, it's like /khhh/ with a lot of phlegm in the throat (almost like the ending syllable of 'ugh').
Warnings
- Do not pronounce "ich" as "itch".Thanks
- Do not say it unless you mean it.Thanks
- Do not make the rookie mistake of saying "Ich liebe du" instead of "Ich liebe dich".Thanks
- Do not pronounce "dich" as "ditch".Thanks
- These pronunciations aren't completely correct, they are just guidelines. To hear them correctly, make Google Translate read it out loud for you.Thanks
References
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeYS-rhqWC4
- ↑ https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ujf/blog/German_ch.html
- ↑ https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/german-english/liebe
- ↑ https://web.stanford.edu/~jrb/reference/german.html
- ↑ https://en.langenscheidt.com/german-english/dich
- ↑ https://www.clozemaster.com/blog/i-love-you-in-german/
- ↑ https://www.clozemaster.com/blog/i-love-you-in-german/
- ↑ https://www.clozemaster.com/blog/i-love-you-in-german/
- ↑ https://www.dict.cc/german-english/Schatz.html
About This Article
To say “I love you” in German, say “Ich liebe Dich.” “Ich” means “I” and sounds a bit like “ish” as in “fish.” Next is “liebe” or “love,” which is pronounced “lee-buh.” “Dich” ends in the same sound as “ich” and is the word for “you.” To further profess your love, you can add some terms of endearment, such as “schatz,” which means “sweetheart,” or “liebling,” which means “darling.” If you want to learn how to say phrases like "I have fallen in love with you," keep reading the article!
Reader Success Stories
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"My fiancee is from Germany and I wanted to show him his language will be spoken as respect, as well as English."