How do you say I love you in Korean? March 14 is White Day in Korea and we wanted to introduce and explain how Koreans celebrate this very special day along with teaching basic yet useful phrases on expressing love in Korean to your possible future Korean loved ones.
For those who don’t know, White Day is a sort of “sequel” to Valentine’s Day. In fact, on February 14, it is only the women who give gifts to the men, while on March 14, it is the other way around: men give gifts to the women, reciprocating the gift they received the month before. But how do they express love feelings or even simple affection in Korean? Continue reading this article to discover all the ways of saying I love you in Korean!
Saranghae
You’ve probably already heard this expression in some dramas or k-pop songs. “Saranghae” (사랑해) means “I love you“. You can also find it in its more formal form “saranghaeyo” (사랑해요), but it’s not used as often since you usually drop the formalities when talking to your loved one.
“Saranghae” means, as we said, “I love you”, but it can also have the meaning of “I care about you“, and can be used to express love for your friends or beloved ones. We can therefore also say “saranghae” to our family members.
Joha
When we like someone but the feeling for them is not deep enough yet to say “I love you”, we can tell them that we like them. In Korean, “I like you” in the romantic sense is called “joha” (좋아).
Again, there is a more formal version, which is derived by adding the ending “yo” to the term (johayo, 좋아요). This formal is used when the other person has not yet decided to drop the formalities and is therefore still speaking in jondaetmal (존댓말).
Akkida
“Akkida” (아끼다) is a verb meaning “to feel affection“. So if you want to tell someone that you love them and that you are fond of them without implying love, you can use this verb. In a way, it is a way of saying “I care about you”.
Jeongi itta
Another way to express feeling affection for someone is jeongi itta (정이 있다). Jeong (정) means feeling, but it doesn’t have to be love, so if you say you have jeong when referring to someone, it means you have affection for them.
Other expressions to express love
In addition to the more direct phrases, there are many other ways to express your emotional attachment to another person. Let’s see some of them!
Neo obsi mot sala: “I can’t live without you”.
Niga nae yeope isseumyeon jokketta: “I wish you were here by my side”.
Bogo sipta: “I miss you”, “I want to see you”. An expression that is widely used either like this, or conjugated as 보고 싶어 (bogo sipeo, informal) or as 보고 싶어요 (bogo sipeoyo, more formal).
Gajima, narang gatchi isseo: “Don’t go away, stay with me.”
Saesange neo bakke eobseo: “In the world there is no one like you” or “In the world I have only you”. It’s a very melodramatic expression.
And finally, the romantic proposals: 나랑 사귈래? (narang sagwillae?) and 결혼하자! (gyeoronhaja!), “Will you get together with me?” and “Let’s get married!” respectively.
If you happen to receive one of the above suggestions and your answer is yes, you might then want to know how to say “I’m engaged” or “I’m in a relationship” and “I’m married”. “Relationship” is 연애 (yeonae) and 연애 중이에요 (yeonae jungieyo) literally means “I’m in the middle of a relationship”, i.e., “I’m in a relationship”. If you just want to say “I have a boyfriend”, you’ll say 남자친구가 있어요 (namjachinguga isseoyo), while “I have a girlfriend” is 여자친구가 있어요 (yeojachinguga isseoyo). Finally, “I am married” is 결혼했어요 (gyeoronhaesseoyo).
Here are the most useful expressions to know when it comes to love and affection in Korean. If you enjoyed this article on how to say I love you in Korean, you might also be interested in the articles on Korean dating habits and Korean Valentine’s Day.
For more information on Korean language and culture, keep following the Go! Go! Hanguk blog and do not hesitate to contact us about living and studying in Korea.
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Have you ever gotten the impression that Korean people are very romantic? Your intuition is probably right. If you wish to not only survive but also live your life to the fullest in this romantic country, you must know how to say I Love You in Korean properly.
Unlike in some cultures where it’s extremely rare for people to express affection, Koreans are hardly ever afraid to do it. I Love You is a phrase often heard in those romantic confession scenes of K-dramas.
Even if you haven’t found your Miss/Mr Right, these phrases about how to say I Love You in Korean can also come in handy when expressing your love to family and friends as well. Now get prepared to become romantic in Korean!
The Basics of How to Say I Love You in Korean
If you have watched Korean drama, you must have heard of this most common way of saying “I Love You” in Korean.
사랑해요. (saranghaeyo.)
I love you.
사랑해요 is taken from the verb love 사랑하다 (saranghada), with informal polite speech and present tense conjugation. Interested in knowing how the verb 사랑하다 become 사랑해요? Check out this article about Korean verb conjugation.
But there is much more to know other than 사랑해요. Read on to learn more!
The Phrase I Love You is Actually Only a Verb “Love”?!
So does this short phrase only consist of a verb? The answer is YES! Don’t be surprised. The fact is that, unlike romantic phrases in many languages, the whole I Love You phrase in Korean actually only requires the verb Love.
If you’ve already learned about Korean sentence structures, you should know that it is sometimes okay to omit the subject and/or object in Korean. As long as the Korean verb is conjugated correctly, it can stand as an independent phrase.
Therefore, in a non-confusing context, a Korean person only needs to say the verb Love in its proper sentence ending form, and the listener can easily interpret it as I Love You.
The full Korean phrase to say I Love You (informal polite) is:
저는 당신을 사랑해요. (jeoneun dangsineul saranghaeyo.)
I love you.
저 (jeo) is the honorific term for “I”, and 당신(dangsin) is the honorific term for “you”. This is a very literal phrase to say I Love You in Korean, because 당신 is not commonly used in spoken Korean.
A more natural expression is to substitute “you” with the listener’s name + honorific suffix 씨:
xx 씨 사랑해요. (xx ssi saranghaeyo.)
I love you, xx.
Or you can include the title with which you call the listener, such as 오빠 or 누나:
오빠/누나 사랑해요. (oppa/nuna saranghaeyo.)
I love you, my significant other.
Here is a guide to the titles for other people with relation to age. 오빠 literally translates to the older brother of a female, and 누나 literally translates to the older sister of a male, but Korean people use these two terms to call their significant others who are older.
The Formation of the Word Love in Korean
Now, let’s take a closer look at the word Love 사랑하다 (saranghada).
The word Love 사랑하다 is a typical -하다(-hada) verb in Korean. Like many other -하다 verbs in Korean, 사랑하다 can be split into two parts 사랑 + 하다.
- The first part 사랑 is a noun by itself, and it means “love”.
- The second part 하다 is a versatile verb in Korean. It literally translates to “do” or “have”, and it can be combined with many nouns to turn the word into a verb.
Here are a few more examples of typical -하다 verbs in the form of noun + 하다:
- 수영하다 (swim) = 수영 (swimming) + 하다 (do)
- 공부하다 (study) = 공부 (study) + 하다 (do)
- 준비하다 (prepare) = 준비 (preparation) + 하다 (do)
How to Say I Love You in Korean in Different Ways
Now you are familiar with the Korean verb Love 사랑하다, and learned how to say I Love You in korean in informal polite speech. This section is going to teach you how to say I Love You in korean in different levels of formality and politeness.
How to Say I Love You in Korean in Casual Speech
If you want to express love to someone you’re close to, such as your boyfriend or girlfriend, you can use the casual speech.
In casual speech, you don’t have to use honorific terms 저(jeo) and 당신(dangsin) to say “I” and “you”. The casual words for “I” and “you” are respectively 나(na) and 너(neo).
The full phrase of I Love You in casual speech:
나는 너를 사랑해. (naneun neoreul saranghae.)
I love you.
More often than not, Korean people would omit the subject and object particles, so the phrase would be:
나 너 사랑해. (na neo saranghae.)
I love you.
Or you can substitute “you” with the listener’s name. You don’t need to add 씨 anymore in casual speech, but with 아 or 야 after the name:
xx아/야, 사랑해. (xx-na/ya, saranghae.)
I love you, xx.
You add 아 after the name if it ends with batchim, and 야 if it doesn’t end with batchim.
You may omit the subject “I”:
널 사랑해. (neol saranghae.)
I love you.
널 is the abbreviation of 너 + 를. It is common for people to abbreviate 를 as -ㄹ after a noun or pronoun without batchim in spoken Korean.
The simplest way is still to only keep the verb:
사랑해. (saranghae.)
I love you.
☝️ Click to watch a short video clip of love confession scene from It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아)
How to Say I Love You in Korean in Formal Polite Speech
Theoretically, you would use formal polite speech to say I Love You, when you are expressing your love to somebody older or in a higher status, like your grandparents for example.
If you are expressing your love to your significant other, you also need to use formal polite speech if it’s in a formal setting. For example, when you are giving a speech at the wedding.
However, Korean people rarely use formal polite speech to say I Love You, even though the listener is older in real life. The formal polite speech of I Love You may appear more often in writings or lyrics. All the examples listed below are likely to be written language instead of spoken language.
You can formally express the phrase I Love You as:
저는 당신을 사랑합니다. (jeoneun dangsineul saranghamnida)
I love you.
Or you can substitute “you” with the addressee’s name + honorific 씨:
저는 xx 씨를 사랑합니다. (jeoneun xx ssireul saranghamnida.)
I love you, xx.
You may omit the subject “I”:
당신을 사랑합니다. (dangsineul saranghamnida.)
I love you.
Or substitute “you” with the addressee’s name + honorific 씨:
xx 씨를 사랑합니다. (xx ssireul saranghamnida.)
I love you, xx.
You may only keep the verb:
사랑합니다. (saranghamnida)
I love you.
☝️ Swipe left to watch a short video clip of love confession scene from Itaewon Class (이태원 클라쓰)
To learn more phrases from K-dramas, watch our Webinar with Hyeon!
How to Say I Love You in Korean with Bonus
Now you’ve learned how to say I Love You in Korean in the three most common speech levels. It’s time to level up the game and learn some phrases to say I Love You with bonus by adding modifiers or confessing your love with rhetorics.
How to Say I Love You Very Much in Korean
First, let’s look at the ways of saying I Love You Very Much.
This can be done by simply adding the degree modifier 너무(neomu) or 많이 (mani), both meaning very much, a lot before the verb:
너무 사랑해요. (neomu saranghaeyo.)
I love you very much.
많이 사랑해요. (mani saranghaeyo.)
I love you a lot.
Or you can express how much you’re in love with the other person in more rhetorical ways:
xx 씨 없이 못 살아요. (xx ssi eobsi mot sarayo.)
I can’t live with you.
xx 씨밖에 없어요. (dangsinbage eobseoyo.)
There’s nobody like you.
xx한테 첫눈에 반했어요. (xx-hante cheotnune banhaeseoyo.)
I fell in love with you at first sight.
저 xx한테 완전히 빠졌어요. (jeo xx-hante wanjeonhi ppajyeoseoyo.)
I’m crazy about you.
The names of the listener (+ 씨) can be substituted with their titles, such as 오빠 or 누나.
Other Indirect Ways to Say I Love You in Korean
Besides saying I Love You directly, you can also express your feelings to the other person in indirect ways.
You can ask if s/he would like to go out with you:
저랑 사귈래요? (jeorang sagwilraeyo?)
Would you go out with me?
You can tell the other person that you want to be with him/her:
같이 있고 싶어요. (gachi itgo sipeoyo.)
I want to be with you.
If s/he is not by your side, you can tell him/her that you miss him/her via phone or text:
보고 싶어요. (bogo sipeoyo.)
I miss you.
You can tell the girl you love that she’s pretty or even beautiful:
예뻐요. (yeppeoyo.)
You’re pretty.
아름다워요. (areumdawoyo.)
You’re beautiful.
You can tell the boy you love that he’s handsome:
잘 생겼어요. (jal saenggyeoseoyo.)
You’re handsome.
멋있어요.
You’re looking good.
How to Respond to I Love You in Korean
If you don’t have anybody to confess your love to, it would be useful for you to learn how to respond to I Love You, if you receive a confession. When you receive a love message, obviously, you have two choices: to accept or to reject.
If you also love the other person, then you can say:
저도 사랑해요. (jeodo saranghaeyo.)
I love you too.
With accepting the love, you can suggest that you two start dating:
우리 사겨요. (wuri sagyeoyo.)
Let’s date.
If you don’t love the other person, then you can reject directly by saying that you don’t love him/her:
사랑하지 않아요. (saranghaji anayo.)
I don’t love you.
제 스타일 아니세요.
You’re not my type.
You can also reject by suggesting that you should just be friends:
우리 친구로 지내요. (wuri chinguro jinaeyo.)
Let’s be friends.
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