I Love You in Korean

Do you know how to say “I love you” in Korean? With love being the central theme of almost every K-drama, you may already be somewhat familiar with the language of love in Korean.

In most languages, the phrase ‘I love you’ is a fairly simple expression, and it’s no different in Korean. To say ‘I love you’ in Korean, you just need to learn the verb for ‘to love,’ which you can use in many different ways to express love and talk about your present and past loves.

In this article, we will talk about all the different ways of saying ‘I love you’ in Korean, and we’ll also explain different ways of expressing love in Korean.

Korean for “I love you”

The key verb you need to know is 사랑하다 [sa-rang-ha-da], which means ‘to love.’ This verb is made up of the noun 사랑 (‘love’) and the verb 하다 (‘to do’), so 사랑하다 means ‘to do love,’ or ‘to love.’

The word 사랑하다 (‘to love’) has three different forms based on how formal you need to be.

When we say “I love you” in Korean, we just say the verb. The words ‘I’ and ‘you’ are included in this word – we don’t say them directly. So “I love you” looks the same as the verb for ‘to love,’ with three different forms depending on the level of formality:

• Formal: 사랑합니다.
• Polite: 사랑해요.
• Casual: 사랑해.

The casual form: 사랑해

The most commonly used phrase for “I love you” is 사랑해, and this is used between people in love and also between family and friends.

• 수지야 사랑해! [Su-ji-ya sa-rang-hae!] – “Suji, I love you.”
• 자기야 사랑해! [Ja-gi-ya sa-rang-hae!] – “Honey, I love you.”

The polite form: 사랑해요

While two people in love should be close enough to use the casual form, the polite form, 사랑해요, is still a common phrase. We say 사랑해요 in situations where we need to use more polite language.

For example, married couples often use polite language, especially when they speak in front of their kids (this is to teach their kids to use polite language), so married couples often use this phrase.

• 민수 아빠, 사랑해요! [Minsu appa, sa-rang-hae-yo!] – “Minsu’s dad, I love you!”
• 여보, 사랑해요! [Yeo-bo, sa-rang-hae-yo!] – “Honey, I love you!”

In Korea, we often refer to people with kids as someone’s mom or someone’s dad, Minsu’s dad can be addressed as 민수 아빠, and Suji’s mom can be addressed as 수지 엄마.

The formal form: 사랑합니다

The least common form is 사랑합니다, and while two people in love may use this phrase in formal settings (like weddings), it’s more commonly used when expressing love and respect to those senior to us, such as our parents.

• 어머니, 사랑합니다! [Eo-meo-ni sa-rang-ham-ni-da.] – “Mother, I love you.”
• 감독님, 사랑합니다! [Gam-dok-nim sa-rang-ham-ni-da.] – “Director, I love you.”

사랑한다 (another Korean word for “I love you”)

사랑한다 also means “I love you,” and it’s mainly used by people with seniority when they talk to those lower in rank or age. They can use this word to say “I love you” in a more matter-of-fact way.

A common relationship where this phrase is used is in a father-and-son relationship. Korean fathers are notoriously stoic and unemotional, so if they want to express their love to their sons, they may use this word.

• 아들 사랑한다! [A-deul sa-rang-han-da!] – “Son, I love you!”

Korean for “I love you so much!”

Sometimes, just saying “I love you” isn’t enough, so we use words like ‘very’ and ‘really’ to express a much stronger love for others. 정말 and 진짜 both mean ‘really,’ and 너무 means ‘so’ or ‘very.’ We combine these words with 사랑해 (‘to love’) to say “I love you so much”:

• 정말 사랑해! [Jeong-mal sa-rang-hae!] – “I love you so much!”
• 너무 사랑해! [Neo-mu sa-rang-hae!] – “I love you so much!”
• 진짜 사랑해! [Jin-jja sa-rang-hae!] – “I love you so much!”

“I love you too!” in Korean

The common response in English to someone expressing their love is “I love you too,” and that’s not too different in Korean:

• 나도 사랑해! [Na-do sa-rang-hae!] – “I love you too!” (casual)
• 저도 사랑해요! [Jeo-do sa-rang-hae-yo!] – “I love you too!” (polite)

Cute way of saying ‘I love you’ in Korean

We Koreans love doing things in a cute way, so naturally, we can also say “I love you” in a cute and loving way.

• 사랑행! [Sa-rang-haeng!] – I love you! (casual)
• 사랑해용! [Sa-rang-hae-yong!] – “I love you!” (polite)

사랑행 is the more casual phrase and it’s similar to 사랑해. To be more polite, we can say 사랑해용.

Using 사랑하는

In Korean, we can change verbs into words that describe a person or thing, so if we change the word 사랑하다 (‘to love’) to 사랑하는, we can use it to describe a noun as someone or something that we love. Here’s an example:

• 사랑하는 아내 [sa-rang-ha-neun a-nae] – ‘wife that I love’

아내 means ‘wife,’ so 사랑하는 아내 means ‘wife that I love.’ A husband might use this phrase to speak to his wife, and he may also use this phrase in a birthday card to address his wife in a loving way.

Here are some more examples using the word 사랑하는:

• 사랑하는 남편 [sa-rang-ha-neun nam-pyeon] – ‘husband that I love’
• 사랑하는 여자친구 [sa-rang-ha-neun yeo-ja-chin-gu] – ‘girlfriend that I love’
• 사랑하는 아버지 [sa-rang-ha-neun a-beo-ji] – ‘father that I love’
• 사랑하는 사람 있어? [Sa-rang-ha-neun sa-ram i-sseo?] – “Is there someone you love?”

Other phrases that use 사랑 (‘love’)

Let’s look at some other ways to use the word 사랑 (‘love’).

1. 사랑스럽다 (to be loving, adorable)

We can use 사랑스럽다 [sa-rang-seu-reop-da] to talk about how someone or something is loving or adorable. Similar to how we change 사랑하다 to 사랑하는 to describe a person or thing, we can also change 사랑스럽다 to 사랑스러운.

• 아기가 사랑스러워요. [A-gi-ga sa-rang-seu-reo-wo-yo.] – “The baby is adorable.”
• 민수의 웃음은 정말 사랑스러워요. [Minsu-ui u-seum-i jeong-mal sa-rang-seu-reo-wo-yo.] – “Minsu’s smile is so adorable.”
• 사랑스러운 딸, 일로와! [Sa-rang-seu-reo-un ttal. il-lo-wa!] – “My adorable daughter, come here!”

2. 사랑에 빠지다 (to fall in love)

사랑에 [sa-rang-e] means ‘in love,’ and the verb 빠지다 [ppa-ji-da] means to ‘fall into.’ We can also use this verb to talk about ‘being addicted’ or ‘being crazy about’ something, so we use the phrase 사랑에 빠지다 to talk about falling in love. When we use this phrase to say that someone ‘has fallen in love,’ we use the past form of 삐지다, which is 빠졌어요.

• 민수가 사랑에 빠졌어요. [Minsu-ga sa-rang-e ppa-jyeo-sseo-yo.] – “Minsu has fallen in love.”
• 수지가 사랑에 푹 빠졌어. [Suji-ga sa-rang-e puk ppa-jyeo-sseo.] – “Suji has completely fallen in love.”
• 나도 사랑에 빠지고 싶어! [Na-do sa-rang-e ppa-ji-go si-peo!] – “I want to fall in love too!”

3. 첫사랑 (first love)

첫 [cheot] means ‘first,’ and 사랑 means ‘love,’ so the phrase 첫사랑 literally means ‘first love.’ In Korea, your 첫사랑 has a significant meaning, and many Koreans believe that people don’t tend to forget their 첫사랑.

• 첫사랑이 생각나요. [Cheot-sa-rang-i saeng-gak-na-yo.] – “It reminds me of my first love.”
• 저는 첫사랑하고 결혼했어요. [Jeo-neun cheot-sa-rang-ha-go gyeol-hon-hae-sseo-yo.] – “I married my first love.”

4. 옛사랑 (old love)

The prefix 옛 [yet] means ‘old’ or ‘past,’ so when we say 옛사랑, it means ‘old love.’ We use this word to refer to those we were in love with in the past.

• 옛사랑을 그리워하지 마요. [Yet-sa-rang-eul geu-ri-wo-ha-ji-ma-yo.] – “Don’t miss your old love.”
• 민수는 옛사랑을 잊지 못 했어요. [Minsu-neun yet-sa-rang-eul it-ji mot hae-sseo-yo.] – “Minsu has not forgotten about his old love.”

5. 짝사랑 (unrequited love, crush)

짝사랑 [jjak-sa-rang] means ‘unrequited love’ or ‘crush.’ We use this phrase to talk about situations where one person is in love with someone who either doesn’t love them back or has no idea the person is in love with them. We can use 짝사랑 to talk about the situation of having a crush or to refer to a person we have a crush on.

We can also use the verb 짝사랑하다 to talk about having a crush.

• 짝사랑은 하지 마! [Jjak-sa-rang-eun ha-ji-ma!] – “Don’t have a crush!”
• 짝사랑으로만 끝났어. [Jjak-sa-rang-eu-ro-man kkeut-na-sseo.] – “It just ended in a crush.”
• 나 수지를 짝사랑했어. [Na Suji-reul jjak-sa-rang-hae-sseo.] – “I had a crush on Suji.”

Other ways to express love in Korean

Besides using 사랑 or 사랑하다, there are many other phrases we can use to talk about our love for others.

1. 좋아하다 (to like)

Similar to how we use the word ‘like’ in English to talk about liking someone in a romantic way, Koreans use the word 좋아하다 [jo-a-ha-da] to talk about romantic feelings for someone.

• 수지가 민수를 좋아해요. [Suji-ga Minsu-reul jo-ahae-yo.] – “Suji likes Minsu.”
• 좋아하는 사람 있어? [Jo-a-ha-neun sa-ram i-sseo?] – “Is there someone you like?”

2. 애정 (love, affection)

애정 [ae-jeong] refers to love and affection we have for someone or something. We can use 애정 to talk about love and affection between couples, but 애정 is also commonly used to talk about love and affection we have for various other things, such as our work, cars or even hobbies.

• 저는 직장에 애정이 없어요. [Jeo-neun jik-jang-e ae-jeong-i eop-seo-yo.] – “I don’t have any love for my work.”
• 우리 아빠는 애정 표현을 안 해요. [U-ri a-ppa-neun ae-jeong pyo-hyeon-eul an hae-yo.] – “My dad doesn’t express his love.”

3. 정들다 (to become attached, to have an affection for)

정 is a very important word in Korean culture – it relates to the love, affection and bonds we have with people around us. We can use 정 with many other words to form different kinds of phrases, and one of these phrases is 정들다 [Jeong-deul-da], which means ‘to become attached’ or ‘to have an affection for.’

We use this phrase to talk about becoming attached to our friends and family, as well as objects and places that are special to us. However, we can also use 정들다 to talk about becoming attached to people in a romantic way.

• 수지는 민수랑 정들었어요. [Suji-neun Minsu-rang jeong-deu-reo-sseo-yo.] – “Suji has an affection for Minsu.”
• 이 차랑 정들어서 못 팔아. [I cha-rang jeong-deu-reo-seo mot pa-ra.] – “I’ve become attached to this car, so I can’t sell it.”

4. 마음에 들다 (to be to one’s liking)

마음 means ‘one’s mind’ or ‘one’s heart.’ When we use it with the verb 들다 (‘to enter’) and form the phrase 마음에 들다 [ma-eum-e deul-da], it means that someone or something is to our liking. We generally use this phrase to talk about when we start to like someone or something. 마음에 들다 expresses a weaker degree of liking someone than 좋아하다 (‘to like’).

We can say 마음에 들다 to talk about how certain objects are to our liking, but we can also use it to say how someone is to our liking, as in how someone is our type of person. So after a first date, you can use 마음에 들다 to tell your friend that you liked the person you went out with.

• 오늘 데이트 마음에 들어. [O-neul de-i-teu ma-eum-e deu-reo.] – “I liked my date today.”
• 이 치마 마음에 들어요. [I chi-ma ma-eum-e deo-reo-yo.] – “I like this skirt.”

Korean “I love you” recap

“I love you” in Korean is one of the simplest phrases you can learn, but as you’ve seen, we can also use the word 사랑 (love) to form many different phrases at different levels of formality.

Now, I normally end my articles by saying, “Now it’s time to practice what you have learned…,” but practicing the phrases from this article can be a little tricky! However, next time you see your loved ones – whether family, friends or maybe work colleagues – surprise them by saying “사랑해.” You never know… they may respond by saying “나도 사랑해” (😲)!