• Share
• Email
• Sharebar

• Share
• Email

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or a hater of Hallmark for inventing the holiday, there’s no denying that it’s here (again), and it will be (again) next year on this date, and the year after that, it will make yet another appearance.

Now, most of your won’t be spending le jour de Saint-Valentin in France (unless you’re very lucky and/or have a private jet and some time to spare), but there’s no denying that French is la langue d’amour—the language of love.

Flowers and fancy dinners are nice, but what better way to boost the romance than to whisper sweet French nothings into someone’s ear this Valentine’s Day? Just make sure it’s someone you know. Preferably someone you wish to express your undying love to. The French don’t do things halfway.

Try these impassioned speeches on for size:

Man*:

Ma puce, mon petit chou, mon amour.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Woman:

Moi aussi, je suis folle de toi! O, mon chéri, tu es trop beu et trop bon. Je t’aime trop.

Man:

Moi aussi, je t’aime. C’est toi qui es trop belle. À cause de toi, je crois au coup de foudre.

Woman:

Mon cœur, tu es le seul pour moi. Tu es trop mignon. Je ne te quitterai jamais!

Man:

Moi non plus. Je resterai toujours avec toi.

*Genders employed only to point out which adjectives you should use as each speaker.

I may have gotten a little carried away with the voices.

For your reference, here is what those terms of endearment break down as:

*The gender of ‘my’ (ma, mon) always matches the object. Only in the case of chéri(e) is the person actually object (rather than a cabbage, for instance). ‘My (female) darling’ is ma chérie. ‘My (male) darling’ is mon chéri.

I know, I know, ‘flea’ as a term of endearment? But is ‘love muffin’ really any better? Not that I’ve ever used that one myself. Of course, the literal translation often doesn’t make sense. It’s the implication (and the sexy French language) that counts.

Now onto the longer phrases:

*Note that bonne can also mean “sexy” and even have a pejorative meaning when describing a woman, so be careful when you use it. Or just use it when you mean it!

I know it probably seems like lots of hyperbole, but the French love to say trop. It means ‘too’ or ‘too much,’ and to them (or at least the young among them) it’s just not enough to say ‘I love you.’ What did I tell you? They take it to the next level.

Of course, to the untrained ear, you could say, ‘J’ai envie de manger trios pamplemousses et un petit poisson rouge,’ and it would still sound sexy. Never mind that you want to eat three grapefruits and a small goldfish.

So with that in mind, do not be afraid to err! Go forth and woo.

Bonne Saint-Valentin!