120 Cute & Creative Ways To Say 'I Love You'
Little things (like this!) mean a whole lot.
YourTango How strong is your communication with your partner? Do you find that the two of you text, email, nod at and grunt in reply to each other more than you typically have meaningful conversations with each other?
Admittedly, we all get caught up in our busy day-to-day lives, and often it's our most important communication — expressing our feelings of love for our partners — that pays the biggest price.
Why is finding ways to say "I love you" so important in relationships?
When we forget to say those three little words 'I love you' often enough and with full sincerity, even in the form of a note scrawled with one of the best, most inspiring love quotes you can find, our connection with each other begins to suffer.
The connection in the relationship may start to weaken so slowly that we don't even notice as the distance continues growing.
In his New York Times Bestseller, "The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts", marriage expert Dr. Gary Chapman urges couples to learn how to express their love for each other in the forms their partner gives and receives love most naturally, be it through physical touch, gifts, acts of service or devotion, quality time, or words of affirmation.
In particular, he stresses one important communication skill related to words of affirmation that all too often gets overlooked in our fast-paced digital society — and that method of connection is the written word.
Think about it ... love letters used to be epic! They were tied with ribbon, stored in boxes for decades, and passed down through generations.
Don't worry, your expressions of love can be epic, too — whether written love notes, verbal declarations, or through text messages and body language.
Here are the best ways to say "I love you" in the most romantic, sweet, and genuine ways.
Cute Ways to Say I Love You
1. "I love you to the moon and back." — Amelia Hepworth
2. "You make my heart warm and happy."
3. "At this very moment, my thoughts of you have me smiling. You do that for me ... did you know that?"
4. "I could search my whole life through and through and never find another you."
5. "When you feel alone, just look at the spaces between your fingers, and remember that's where my fingers fit perfectly."
6. “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” — A. A. Milne
7. “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” — Dr. Seuss
8. "Maybe you don't need the whole world to love you. Maybe you just need one person." — Kermit the Frog (aka Jim Henson)
9. "Sometimes I feel like my heart will burst with all of the longing and excitement I feel when I think of you."
10. "They told me that to make her fall in love, I had to make her laugh. But every time she laughs, I'm the one who falls in love." — Tommaso Ferraris
11. "A piece of my heart is always missing when you’re not with me."
12. “I love you begins by I, but it ends up by you.” — Charles de Leusse
13. "You look great today. How did I know? Because you look great every day."
14. “Smiling so much today just thinking of you.”
15. “Just wanted to thank you for being you).”
16. "I hope you know how much you mean to me.”
17. “I'm so glad you're in my life!”
18. “I want you to be my valentine every Valentine's Day."
19. “You mean so much to me.”
20. "We fit together like puzzle pieces."
21. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."
22. "You complete me."
23. "I can’t believe you’re mine."
24. "You are a beautiful person inside and out."
25. "I am here for you…always."
26. "Words I love hearing you say: I’m yours."
27. "I’m the luckiest person in the world."
28. "We are meant to be."
29. "I think I'm falling for you."
30. "I'm crazy about you."
31. "I’d do anything to make you smile."
32. "You are my soulmate."
33. "I like the way you make me feel, even when you are not around."
34. "You’re my dream come true."
35. "You take my breath away."
36. "Since you’ve been around I smile a lot more than I used to."
37. "You’re my partner in crime."
38. "You look great today and every day."
39. "You make my dreams come true."
40. "I’m jealous of people who get to see you every day."
41. "Your voice is my favorite sound."
42. "Sometimes I look at you and wonder how I got so lucky."
43. "Whatever we do today, I’m glad to do it with you."
44. "I’ve always got your back."
45. "You make me feel warm and fuzzy inside."
46. "You're like poetry to me."
Creative Ways To Say I Love You
47. "With you, forever won't be too long."
48. "I never knew how joyous life could be, until I saw your face."
49. "She asked, 'You are in love, what does love look like?' To which I replied, 'Like everything I've ever lost come back to me.'"
50. "If you need to hear why I love you, I can go on all night." — Lucas to Brooke on "One Tree Hill"
51. "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” – John Green
52. "I'd rather argue with you than kiss someone else."
53. "I am consumed by the desire to be with you, to talk to you, and to feel you near me."
54. "In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you." — Virginia Woolf
55. “I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
56. "Whatever you have to do today, I'm glad to be doing it with you."
57. "You are my world, gravity always pulls me toward you."
58. "There's something about you I'm scared to lose because I know I won't find it in anyone else." — "The Driver"
59. “To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed.” — Valerie Lombardo
60. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." — Jane Austen, Emma
61. "I never wanted to have anything in my life that I couldn't stand losing. It's too late for that."
62. "My heart calls out for you."
Romantic Ways to Say I Love You
63. "If, out of time, I could pick one moment and keep it shining, always new, of all the days that I have lived, I'd pick the moment I met you."
64. "They say you only fall in love once, but that can't be true ... Every time I look at you, I fall in love all over again."
65. "I am head over heels in love with you."
66. "True love stories never have endings.” — Richard Bach
67. “Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.” — Elaine Davis
68. “I love you not only for what you are but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
69. “I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more.” — Angelita Lim
70. “If I know what love is, it is because of you.” — Hermann Hesse
71. “I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow.” — Leo Christopher
72. ”I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” — Pablo Neruda
73. “I love you with every beat of my heart.” — Armaan
74. "You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known — and even that is an understatement." — F. Scott Fitzgerald
75. “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.” — Pablo Neruda
76. “My love for you is past the mind, beyond my heart, and into my soul.” — Boris Kodjoe
77. "I want to spend my life with you. Forever."
Funny Ways to Say I Love You
78. "When I see you, I think 'Good job, God!'"
79. “You call it madness, but I call it love.” — Don Byas
80. “I love you like a fat kid loves cake.” — Scott Adams
81. “Love is being stupid together.” — Paul Valery
82. "There is no one I’d rather steal blankets from."
83. "I’ve fallen for you… and I can’t get up."
84. "When I look at you, I feel a warmth in my heart. At least, I think it’s warmth; I did have a burrito for lunch."
85. "Kiss me, I’m crazy about you! Okay, well, maybe I’m just crazy."
86. "You are like asthma. You take my breath away!"
87. "I love you with all my butt. I’d say my heart, but my butt is bigger."
88. "I love you more than a hipster loves beards."
89. "When kissing, you know tulips are better than one."
90. "You can bug me anytime."
Ways To Say I Love You Without Words
91. Send a romantic song.
92. Buy flowers randomly.
93. Post love notes around the house.
94. Have a romantic spa day at home.
95. Enjoy a candlelit dinner at home.
96. Go stargazing.
97. Write a love letter.
98. Have a tickle fight.
99. Make them breakfast in bed.
100. Make them a mixtape (or playlist).
101. Give them a framed photo of you both.
102. Surprise them with a trip or activity.
103. Throw them a surprise party.
104. Cuddle.
105. Fill a jar of 100 reasons why you love them.
Ways to Say I Love You in Different Languages
106. Arabic: أحبك (pronounced uhibuk)
107. Bengali: আমি তোমাকে ভালবাসি (pronounced Āmi tōmākē bhālabāsi)
108. Finnish: Minä rakastan sinua
109. French: Je t'aime
110. German: Ich liebe dich
111. Greek: Σ'αγαπώ (pronounced S'agapó)
112. Hindi: मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ (pronounced main tumase pyaar karata hoon)
113. Irish: Is tú mo ghrá
114. Japanese: 愛してる (pronounced Itoshi teru)
115. Korean: 사랑해 (pronounced salanghae)
116. Mandarin: 我爱你 (pronounced Wǒ ài nǐ)
117. Portuguese: Eu te amo
118. Russian: Я люблю тебя (pronounced YA lyublyu tebya)
119. Spanish: Te amo
120. Yiddish: איך האָב דיך ליב (pronounced ikh hob dikh lib)
So, there you have it — super sweet ways to say 'I love you' and make the one you love smile!
It takes just a minute or two of your time to write these love messages down, but the feeling of being so deeply loved that you'll give your partner will last far, far longer.
Jim and Carrie Gordon are expert authors and speakers with a passion for healthy marriages who teach couples to deepen intimacy, heighten love, and achieve new levels of fulfillment for a strong and happy marriage.