Valentine's Day special: What 'I Love You' means in different cultures and countries

In English, most of us consider ‘I Love You’ as an ultimate expression of affection and a way to take the relationship to next level. Interestingly, the meaning of these same words might have a different connotation depending upon the geographical location and the culture. Here’s what these three words mean across the globe, as per relationship experts.

According to experts, the dating scene in France is quite different than the rest of the world and in France it’s okay to casually date multiple people at one time. People generally say ‘I Love You’ to their partner within two months of dating. Not just this, people introduce their lover to friends after a few dates and parents in between one to three months.

Surprisingly, Japanese language does not have the exact phrase that can be a direct translation of these three English words. The closest phrase to ‘I Love You’ is "ai shiteiru" and it is not a must-say line in a serious relationship. Hence, a Japanese lover would communicate feelings using other detailed expressions and words to show his or her dedication, support, love and admiration for the partner.

In Arabic, the words love and like are translated into the same word ‘ahibbik’, and it is not unusual for a man to say this to a woman on their first meeting.

People in South Korea don’t say ‘I Love You’ much to their partners. According to experts, they have an understanding that love is there and does not need to be demonstrated verbally. However, the trend is changing due to the exposure to western films and culture, and young couples have become more open to expressing their affection. But it is still not common to hear people above the age of 40 saying ‘I love you’ to their partners.

In 20th century, a man saying ‘I Love You’ meant proposing a woman for marriage and was followed by his family meeting the woman’s parents to talk about their wedding. However, things took an ugly turn around 1979 when Islamic revolution brought in new social rules and started punishing couples who were not related to one another. In today’s time, saying "I love you" can mean "I am ready to move to the next step of our relationship and sleep with you”, and is commonly expressed by both men and women.

When a man says "wo ai ni" to a woman, it is his signal of expressing that he wants an exclusive relationship with her. Before this, the couple can hold hands and hang out together but might refrain from having sex or publically accepting each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Couples between the age group of 20-35 say "wo ai ni" to each other every day and the phrase is not much common amongst older people.

(All images used here are representational)