Couples say "I love you" to each other to show their affection. These three words were very short, yet very powerful. But, what if "I love you" was said in a different language, will it still have the same meaning?
The South China Morning Post talked to dating experts and literary translators to find out the meaning of "I love you" in China, South Korea, and elsewhere. They explained that while love is a "universal value," the phrase "I love you" can be understood in different meanings.
China
In China, "wo ai ni" is the man's signal he wanted to be in an exclusive relationship with the woman he's dating, said Joy Chen, dating coach and author of "Do Not Marry Before Age 30". A woman will wait for this before having sex or appearing in public as a couple. After saying the first "wo ai ni," Chen said the two will likely say those words to each other every day. But, she added hat this only relates to young people, particularly ages 20 to 35. For older people, they don't reportedly say "wo ai ni" much at all.
South Korea
Stephen Epstein, professor of Asian languages at Victoria University of Wellington, said people in South Korea don't say "I love you" among husband and wife, or between parents and kids. Since his wife is Korean, he said that he didn't usually hear her saying "I love you" to her mother or vice versa. But while these three words were not said often, the understanding is that the love is there - it doesn't need to be declared verbally.
Japan
According to literary translator Sam Bett, Japan doesn't have a direct analogue to "I love you." The phrase "ai shiteiru" was said to close to "I love you" - but it wasn't considered a relationship milestone among Japanese. So rather than saying "I love you," Japanese people tend to say words of support and devotion like "I can tell how hard you're trying" or "I support you".
France
In France, there's definitely no pressure when saying "I love you" compared in the United States, said Adeline Bréon, a dating coach. The majority of people in France tend to say these three words after two months of dating. Bréon added that during casual dating period in France, people were still allowed to date others to also keep their option.
Iraq
Qussay Al-Attabi, a scholar of Arabic literature, said you can express your deep and sincere feelings to a person in Iraq by saying: amoot alaych("I'm dead in love with you") or a'shaqich ("I'm deeply in love with you"). However, there are still some exceptions as the Iraqi society has gone through an identity crisis since 2003. Hence, almost all traditional social norms have been challenged, including marriage and courtship.
Iran
Men in Iran during the 20th-century were the first one to say "I love you," as per Sholeh Wolpé, Iranian-American writer and literary translator. After saying these three words, it was usually followed by a promise of marriage or visiting parents of the woman to formally ask her hand. But, the situation changed now, saying "I love you" has lost its meaning. Wolpé said that saying these three words now also means "I am ready to move to the next step of our relationship and sleep with you".
