3 Ways to Say You're in Love in German ♥

"Alte Liebe rostet nicht" say the Germans.

Old love doesn't rust.

Neither does new love!

So how do you say you're in love in German?

There's the classic, direct way:

Ich liebe dich.

Yeah, that's a good one.

And it's a big one.

If you don't want to jump in at the deep end of the pool, here are a few suggestions for you to talk about it.

There are a few standard ways of saying you're in love with someone as well as a couple of slang ways to say it.

If you're on the look-out for "like" rather than "love," be sure to check out #3 below for some "like" language. ;-)

1. Use a reflexive verb (standard German):

• Ich habe mich verliebt.

  • I've "fallen" in love.

• Ich habe mich neu verliebt.

  • I'm in love again!

• Ich bin total verliebt!

  • I'm totally in love!

The verb here is "sich verlieben." The form "verliebt" is the adjective form. You can also use it with the "wir" and "uns" pronouns, e.g. "Wir haben uns verliebt" and the same goes for the third person singular "Er hat sich verliebt" and "Sie hat sich verliebt."

This is a really standard way of saying you're totally a goner for your new girl/boyfriend and you're probably so excited, all atwitter with new feelings.

2. Or use "Umgangssprache" (slang):

This is how to say you "totally dig" someone.

• Ich bin total aus dem Häuschen über sie/ihn!

  • I'm totally crazy about her/him! [aus dem Häuschen = thrilled to bits/to be in a tizzy]

• Ich bin total verknallt!

  • I've got a huge crush!

• Ich bin bis über beide Ohren verliebt.

  • I'm head over heels in love.

These are such adorable ways of saying you're totally into someone.

3. On your way to love, but not quite there yet?

If you're not ready to say you're in love with somebody, but you want to express that you like them a lot and you're very interested in them, I suggest using the regular modal verb "mögen" like this:

• Ich mag ihn.

• Ich mag sie sehr.

Or you can use "Umgangssprache" of course:

• Ich stehe auf ihn.

• Ich stehe total auf sie.

"Auf jemanden stehen" means you really like them. You really like them. You might be more attracted to them than you actually like the person, but using this phrase definitely gets the point across. If you're going to say it to someone, be sure to use the accusative pronoun like so:

• Ich stehe auf dich.

So when it's time to tell somebody how you feel about her/him, that could be a way to go.

Whichever one you choose, I wish you "Viel Erfolg!" (Much success!)