Saturday, August 2, 2014

How to say "I love you" in Japanese?

The term "I love you" was among those that raised the most translation requests. Including Japanese language. I offer a summary of possible translations with explanations.

The most evident way to translate "I love you" in Japanese is:

あたしはあなたが好きです。"Watashi wa anata ga suki desu."
  • あたし "watashi" = I; can be replaced by 私
  • は "wa" is the particle for the subject.
  • あなた "anata" = you
  • が "ga" it's the particle for the object.
  • 好き です "suki desu" which means love, or 好き だ "suki da".
the first part (あたしはあなたが "watashi wa anata ga") is quite formal and can do without, It is possible to add 大 "dai" before "suki", that's why you can hear just 大好きです "daisuki desu" or 大好きだ "daisuki da".
あたしはあなたを愛しています。Watashi wa anata o aishiteimasu. Its use is the same as あたしはあなたが好きです。Watashi wa anata ga suki desu. except that you replace the particle が "ga" par を "o".

2 comments:

  1. Robert AveryAugust 5, 2014 at 7:13 AM

    Most use the informal usage now, especially for the younger generations. Ai shi te ru or あいしてる。the use of Suki desu used to and still does imply liking a lot but it is very informal, if you cannot muster the I love you, then I like you very very much or すきしてる。

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    Replies
    1. d.luffyAugust 5, 2014 at 8:39 AM

      爱 which reads "ai". we can create a verb: 愛しています aishiteimasu the polite form, 愛し てる aishiteru in the neutral form

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