Ah, février, mois de l’amour…!

Aren’t we all happy to leave behind January’s cold weather and post-holiday fatigue to embrace February’s sun and nature’s revival?

I am not a big fan of the commercial fuss surrounding la Saint-Valentin as I believe we should be celebrating love all year round, but I felt like spreading some love en français!

Here are 5 great tips to talk about love in French

1. To Like Or To Love?

When I was teaching English in Danang, Vietnam, I discovered that there were more than 5 words to express your love in Vietnamese. My students were very surprised to learn that we manifest our passion for noodles and our love for our grandparents with the same verb in French! And this word is… Aimer.

When you want to say that you love a person:

• Je t’aime. (I love you.)
• Je vous aime tous très fort. (I love you all very much.)
• Je l’aime tellement! (I love him/her so much!)
• J’aime beaucoup ma grand-mère. (I really love my grandmother.)
• J’aime mes enfants de tout mon coeur. (I love my children with all of my heart and soul.)

When you want to say that you like something:

• J’aime vivre à Genève. (I like living in Geneva.)
• J’aime passer du temps avec toi. (I like to spend time with you.)

When you really love something:

• J’adore faire du ski! (I love to go skiing.)
• J’adore les crêpes au Nutella. (I love Nutella crepes.)

2. I Put A Spell On You

Here are a few expressions to talk about how crazy that special someone is driving you!

• J’ai le béguin pour Charles… (I have a crush on Charles.)
• Je trouve que Laetitia est très jolie. (I find Laetitia really pretty.)
• Il/Elle n’est pas mal. (He/She isn’t bad.) When you don’t really want to admit that you like someone.
• Je suis fou amoureux de Julie! (I am head over heels with Julie!)
• Je n’ai d’yeux que pour toi! (I only have eyes for you!)
• C’était le coup de foudre! (It was love at first sight!)

3. 50 First Dates

Here are a few sentences to help you take the next big step: asking your crush out on a date!

• Tu viens prendre l’apéro avec nous ce soir? (Are you coming to the ”afterwork drinks” tonight?) Well, that is a bit too much on the safe side!
• Est-ce que tu aimerais aller prendre un café avec moi demain? (Would you like to have coffee with me tomorrow?)
• On va prendre un verre ce soir? (How about drinks tonight?)
• Tu as des plans pour ce week-end? Je pensais aller skier.  Tu aimerais venir avec moi? (Do you have any plans for this weekend? I was thinking about going skiing. Would you like to come with me?)

4. Unfortunate Heart

Love unfortunately comes with its fair share of sorrow. Here are a few expressions to better explain how we feel about deceitful suitors(!):

• J’ai un coeur d’artichaut. (I am fickle. / I fall in love easily.)
• C’est un coureur de jupons. (He’s a womanizer.)
• Annabelle est une véritable mangeuse d’hommes. (Annabelle is a real man-eater.)
• François?  C’est tout un Don Juan! (François? What a Lover Boy!)
• Mon chat est mort hier. J’ai le coeur gros. (My cat died yesterday. I am heavy-hearted.)
• Je ressens la douleur exquise. (I feel the ”exquisite pain”.) The heartbreaking pain of wanting someone you can’t have.

5. L’homme idéal / La femme idéale

Haven’t found Mr / Mrs Right yet? Have you ever considered going to a… bookshop? A new dating trend proposes to start a conversation with someone you fancy about the book they are looking at and ultimately buy it for her/him. Can I get you this book? Classy!

Here are a few places where you can put this little tip into practice:

Librairy Payot

Ideally situated in Geneva’s Rue de la Confédération, the 1800 m2 Payot Rive Gauche bookshop offers, on four floors, more than 100’000 French and International titles in all genres. Discover a large English corner, a 200 m2 Nature & Découvertes shop and a La Semeuse Café corner.

La Bibliothèque de Genève

One of the oldest university libraries of Switzerland. Located in Geneva, it was founded in 1559 as a part of the University of Geneva by John Calvin, and was mentioned for the first time in 1561. It occupies four different sites in iconic places within the city. The central site Bastions (next to the University buildings, facing the Reformation Wall), Le Musée Voltaire in Les Délices, La Musicale in the Grütli Theater and Le Centre d’iconographie on the Boulevard du Pont d’Arve.

Café librairie Livresse

Grab a coffee, a treat & a book from this lovely café’s library, and who knows… You might be sat right next to your future sweetheart! I met mine in a boulangerie française in Munich. True story!