I Love You
 

How do you say I love you in Japanese ?

Please in Hiragana and normal translation n_n ?

There are several different ways, actually.

If you are saying this to a girl you like, I would say すき. It isn't an emotion that is expressed quite as openly and verbally in Japan as it is in the west, but I do hear that is changing.

In a dictionary I have, it says that's just love, not I love you. now I'm just confused.

I thought I love you was aishiteru? or something like that?

愛している aishiteiru is the most literally translated way of saying "I love you."

This is only my opinion, and others may disagree, but I feel like it is a phrase used more in songs and movies than in actual application.

I have heard women say they would get a creepy feeling if a man actually said "aishiteiru" to them. (Like it sounds like "I give you my heart and my soul forever and ever".) Maybe it's more appropriate with husbands and wives or moms and kids (??)

I am assuming the OP isn't asking what to say to his wife, so if he is wanting to declare his feelings for a girlfriend, I would use suki.

My teacher told us Japanese people don't really use such direct expression as it implies too much and girls don't like that; they would rather say, as MMM previously posted, すき 「あなたが好きです」, meaning "I like you".

Yeah, it's すき. Because in some anime, a girl said ´ski, and i was like huh ? But it's 'suki' n_n. thanks

I wouldn't use suki. Suki (ski for short) simply means you like something. Ashiteru has a much greater impact than suki and it's used for people. Although ashiteru isn't actually translated into "i love you", it's the closest your going to get to telling someone that you love them and care about them a lot.

すき is most certainly used for people.

And you are right, 愛している does have a much greater impact. So much so it is a good way to scare a girl off.

Like MMM said, Suki is the best way to say you like a girl. That is according to my ex who came from Tokyo.

I'm in wholehearted agreement with MMM, "suki" is my favourite approach. (actually, I almost exclusively use "daisuki")

I often say it to my fiance, but when I tried saying "aishiteru", she thought it just sounded a bit odd.

Perhaps it's just down to our personal preferences, but "suki" certainly seems to be a bit more versatile.

suki?

I always thought suki was used to describe your like in a non-romantic way.

For example

Takeshisan ga suki desu
I like Takeshi (he's cool to go surfing with)

daisuki was the term I thought you used for romantic purposes

Josesan ha Marikosan ga daisuki da to omou.
I think Jose really likes (in a romantic way) Mariko.

In my (amateur) experience, you'd say someone is fun or interesting (omoshiroi) rather than you directly like them (suki).

For romance, suki (and daisuki) is the way to go.

'Suki' is a versatile term. You can put 'na' on the end to say something is your favorite, but used in context here, it is definitely what you would say to a girlfriend or boyfriend. If you said suki in reference to any other person, it would come off as a little...weird.

Moving from 'suki' to 'daisuki' is the equivalent of moving from 'like' to 'love' in English. So in a serious, long-term relationship, you would use 'daisuki'.

The use of 'aishiteru' really comes down to personal preference, but you would definitely never, ever say it to anyone that you weren't already engaged to (or otherwise planning to marry). Even then, some people tend to avoid it. You hear it mostly in movies and anime where the characters' romance is based on the idea of the red string of fate or something similar. I'm to understand that most couples only use it comfortably after going through some sort of crisis together, even when they're married.

For instance, a married couple tries for five years to have a baby. The wife gets pregnant, and loses the baby at 7 months. For a while afterward, their marriage is very rocky. The wife confronts her husband about fearing that their marriage will end, and he tells her not to worry and says 'aishiteru'. And even though he's said it that time, that doesn't mean they'll completely transition to 'aishiteru'. They'll still probably use 'daisuki' for the most part.

Unless you make it clear otherwise, it sounds like you have a crush on Takeshi-san.

I am sure where you heard that "na" business. To say something is your favorite I would use "Ichiban suki". "Na" is used when describing something. "Suki na hito" is "a person I like".

I used to think the same thing, but I'm willing to trust my own experience (and MMM's, whose Japanese is years ahead of mine, from what I can tell).

My mom has a Japanese penpal, and when my mom sent her a picture
that she took on the beach (my dad had written "i love holly" -her name-
in seaweed), her Japanese penpal thought it was the sweetest thing,
because they didn't really say "i love you" in Japan as much.

But I also heard that it's becoming more common with the new generation.

I read "daisuki da yo" somewhere too. So I guess that's another way to say it.

And the reason it's pronounced "ski" is because the U in some Japanese words isn't pronounced. Like in "desu"

Suki is a -na adjective. So, to put it in place of a verb when talking about something would mean that it is liked, and usually to mean that it's your favorite.

From your website:

Uh, what?

Suki is a na adjective. "to like" is a verb in English. So when you talk about "vegetables you like" it is "suki na yasai". A car you like is "suki na kuruma". The "na" there has nothing to do with "favorite".

"Suki" CAN mean favorite, but it depends in the context.

I think he was trying to imply that it could be used like "ichiban suki na ___" and just forgot to give us an example.

It's like saying flour means cake. It can make a cake, but they're not the same thing.

I hear it pretty often, but of course, my only experience is movies, songs, and such. I'm not trying to say that it's the way the term is supposed to be used, but it does seem (at least from the movies I've seen) that it is used that way at times.

Songs are not natural Japanese and i am not sure what movies you are talking about. I am not saying you don't know what you are talking about, but I am telling you as 10+ years as a comfortable speaker of Japanese, these is how I see it.

Tangram, I think I understand what you are trying to say but I can also see where you got it a bit mixed.

The word "like" is a transitive verb in English. The strict equivalent of that word in Japanese is actually 好く (Suku・五段活用他動詞).
E.g. I like cats. （わたしは）猫を好いている。
Unfortunately, 好く is one of those words that makes sense in practice but not used in everyday speech.

The word 好き is strictly a noun/na adjective (名詞・形容動詞)
Normally it can be used to prefix a noun to describe something that one likes. It functions as a regular adjective. There is no English equivalent of an adjective that has this function and I think that's what's causing all the confusion. "Favourite" is very close but it's not the same as "Like".

好きな色 A colour that I like
好きな人 A person that I like/love

--------------------
～が好きだ I like X
～が嫌いだ I hate X

These are fixed expressions. Just remember them and don't try to pick out grammatical patterns because there is none.

My advice would be do not try to see Japanese through English lenses. You will be confused. Just take everything on face value and don't analyse too much.

Do NOT use Aishiteiru. It freaks them out and it makes an awkward barrier inbetween you two forever. Trust me. It's sometihng you'd find in movies and TV. Revert to (Name here) ga suki desu/da, depending how much you know this person. It literally translates to (Name) like, since "I" can be ommitted, watashi is left out.

Bottom line: Say "(Name) ga suki desu"

I think this is about the only time anime is useful to learning Japanese (too many guys imitating anime girls by ending their sentences with わ back in my undergrad days *shudder*).

You'll notice that guys almost always say 好きだ to say they love/like a girl.

i love you (japanese)
 

:ywave:
hi thanks for looking
there is probably allready a thread for this
but i would like an answer fast.
:D
.
what is the best way to say 'i love you' to express affection in japanese
ive heard 'aishiteru' but apparenately thats too serious.
'daisuki desu' .?
.
thankyouu
:rheart:
x

すきだよ

if its clear you are talking about her, this is an expressive way to say you love her.

If its not clear, don't use あなた, use her name instead.

Dorama "Densha Otoko".
"Boku wa, Aoyama-san, okoto ga dai ski des".
Japan: 僕は（Aoyama-san）おことが大好きです. :vsign:
I'm sorry, in English I do not speak.

Well neither your Japanese or English made any sense.

I have not seen the drama but it is probably:
僕は、あおやまさんのことが大好きです。

Given the formality of this sentence, you would ever only use it to tell someone for the first time how u felt.

daisuki is like right?

It depends on the context, but it implies something more than just "suki".

If a girl whispers it into her boyfriend's ear, I would say it means "I love you".

However, if a girl slaps a guy on the back at a drinking party after he tells a good joke and says, "OOO-kun, daisuki!" as a public announcement, I would take it as "OOO-kun is really funny/fun to go drinking with!" This is a "tease" line girls (more than guys) sometimes use.

i see.... it has a different meaning on different situations. that quite confusing...

Really? It's not that much different from I Love You in English. It can mean romantic love, fraternal love, or "I love you when you get on a roll".

uh huh.. it is... but i guess if youll get used to it, itl be ok...

I've always thought 好き is something a dude would say to the girl he likes for the first time, (like, confessing his feelings, as in movies and such)
And the first few dates.

大好き is something that the dude would say to his girlfriend after dating for a few months...Or the way those preppy chiks say about everything that draws their attention (Like, omg you bought me somthing expensive omg i love you so much omg like totally)

and 愛してる is...well...I haven't really thought about it too much. You don't hear it too much in real conversation. But I guess my interpretation of it would be something like a man would say to his wife on their anniversity after 50+ years of marriage.

I've been wrong before, so if I am again, feel free to correct away. Just my interpretation of the words.

It's just that none of those words have such rigid meanings...just like in English.

You can say "I like you" to a person in English, and it might have a range of levels or meaning. Same with "I love you".