Saying the Basic "I Love You"
Say "I love you" by saying "Ich liebe Dich." We'll show you how to pronounce each single word, but phonetically it sounds something like this: [ɪç 'li:bə dɪç].
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. 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."
Say "liebe." This is the "love" in "I love you." Say this slowly "lee-buh." 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."
Say "Dich." The "ich" in "Dich" is pronounced the same as "ich" in the first step. "Dich" sounds similar to the English word "dish," except the /ch/ sound is produced in the middle of the mouth instead of the front. This is the "you" in "I love you".
Other Ways of Saying (Or Approximating) "I Love You"
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." The phonetic pronunciation is [ɪç 'ha:bə mɪç ɪn dɪç fɛɐ'li:pt].
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). The phonetic pronunciation here is [ɪç ma:k dɪç ze:ɐ].
Say "I like you." To say this: "Du gefällst mir." The phonetic pronunciation here is [du: gə'fɛlst mi:ə].
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:Say I Love You in German Step 8.jpg "Schatz," meaning "sweetheart" but literally "treasure." 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.")
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