68 Stronger and More Powerful Words than "Love"

Eros. Eros is the Greek word for desire, and the name of a Greek God in ancient mythology, who was known as the God of love and sex. This was no ordinary form of love, as it implies that both parties were overcome with a strong and passionate sexual desire which was dangerous and reckless. Eros is the root word of "erotic" and "erogenous", which refers to erotic novels and erogenous zones respectively.

Adore. To adore someone is to love someone very deeply and intimately. Merriam-Webster has other interpretations of the word: "Adore", including loving someone to the point of worship, and there is an element of strong respect.

Expedia has compiled some special foreign words which are used to describe love or affection.

Cwtch(Welsh)-a hug

Forelsket(Norweigan)-euphoric feeling when you start falling in love.

Ya' Aburnee(Arabic)-"You bury me". Hoping that you die before your lover that you don't have to live without them.

Iktsuarpok(Inuit)-feeling of anticipation when waiting for someone to come to your house.

Viraag(Hindi)-emotional heartache when you are away from someone. 

Cafune(Portugeuse)-running your fingers through your lover's golden locks

Oodal(Tamil)-pretending to sulk after having a small argument with your loved one

Gigil(Tagalog)-the feeling of wanting to pinch someone or something that is super cute

Flechazo(Spain)-the sensation that you have been struck by Cupid's bow(Love at first sight)

1. French

• Je t’aime. (I love you.)
• J’aime être à tes côtés. (I love being by your side.)
• Je veux passer plus de temps avec toi. (I want to spend more time with you.)

2. Italian

• Ti amo. (I love you.)

3. Chinese (Mandarin)

• 我爱你 [Wǒ ài nǐ ] (I love you.)

4. German

• Ich liebe dich. (I love you.)
• Ich hab dich lieb. (I really like you.)
• Ich steh auf dich. (I’m into you.)

5. Japanese

• 愛してる [Aishiteru] (I love you. Note: this isn’t used very often!)
• あなたが大好きです [Anata ga daisuki desu] (I like you a lot. Note: this is more commonly used.)

6. Korean

• 사랑해요 [Saranghaeyo] (I love you.)

7. Polish

• Kocham Cię. (I love you.)

8. Portuguese

• Eu te amo (I love you.)

9. Russian

• Я люблю тебя. [Ya lyublyu tyebya.] (I love you.)
• Ты – моя любовь на всю жизнь. [Ty maya lyubov’ na vsyu zhizn.] (You are the love of my life.)

10. Spanish

• Te amo. / Te quiero. (I love you in Latin America / Spain).
• Me encantas. (I really like you.)
• Me vuelves loco / loca. (I’m crazy about you.)

11. Vietnamese

• Anh yêu em. (I love you.)

12. Turkish

• Seni seviyorum. (I love you.)
• Senden çok hoşlanıyorum. (I really like you.)

Sana aşığım. (I’m in love with you.)

French today has a list of nicknames which are applicable for all genders:

1. Mon amour – my love
2. Mon ange – my angel
3. Mon trésor – my treasure
4. Mon coeur – my heart
5. Mon canard – my duck
6. Mon chou – my sweet bun (derived from the phrase, un chou à la crème, a cream-filled puff pastry).  Alternatively, “mon petit chou” is also quite commonly used as well.
7. Mon chouchou – another word for “mon chou”
8. Doudou – the meaning of this word is "sweetie"
9. Mon lapin – my rabbit
10. Mon poussin – my chick

They also have a list of nicknames for men:

1. Mon chat (the t is silent in "chat")– my cat
2. Mon chéri – my darling
3. Mon beau – my beautiful one
4. Mon choupinet – derived from the phrase  “mon chou”
5. Mon gros – my fat one (Might be offensive to those who are weight-conscious-do use with caution)
6. Loulou – comes from the root word “loup”
7. Mon loup – my wolf (not so suitable for children)
8. Mon ours – my bear (not so suitable for children)
9. Mon nounours – my teddy bear (not suitable for children)
10. Minou – kitty
11. Roudoudou – a hard caramel candy… (not suitable for children)

1. Your love is my drug(Kesha reference)
2. My heart is in your hands.
3. My heart longs for you.
4. My life began the day we met.
5. My life changed forever when you became part of it.
6. My love for you grows stronger with each moment.
7. My love for you is unconditional and eternal.
8. My only regret is that we did not meet even sooner so we’d have more time together.
9. My soul is complete now that you are by my side.
10. To me, you are perfect.
11. What would I be without you in my life?
12. Words cannot express the deep love I feel for you.
13. Your scent is a drug to me like my own personal brand of heroin.(Twilight reference)

Ardor signifies deep passion and intense feelings of love. It is characterized by enthusiasm and warmth. During the courtship phase, you may experience arduous feelings for your boyfriend.

Wikipedia suggests that the word "Ecstacy" is one of the mood states which involves "an altered sense of consciousness". This out-of-body experience can be caused by having sex with someone, or taking drugs such as LSD, or having an intense religious experience. If you are head over heels crazy for your boyfriend, it may cause such a euphoric state where you are oblivious to your surroundings, and your mind is filled with thoughts of him.

In psychiatry, mania is used to describe an unusually heightened and expansive mood, usually experienced by those who have bipolar disorder. Signs of the disorder include recklessness, feeling extremely giddy with happiness, and being extremely energetic. If you are obsessed with your boyfriend, mania could be a good state to describe your feelings too. Mania is the root word for erotomania, which happens if you are in love with a man with higher social status and you believe that he is in love with you, but your feelings are not reciprocated.

1. I want to grow old together with you.
2. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
3. You are my everything.
4. I don’t know why I can’t keep my eyes off you. (Lifehouse-You and Me)
5. You are a dream come true.
6. You are my sunshine.
7. I can't live without you.
8. You are my rock. 
9. You are the peanut butter to my jelly. 
10. ou are the best thing that ever happened to me.
11. You are the light of my life.
12. You are the one I've always wished for.
13. You are the yin to my yang.
14. You cast a spell on me.
15. You complete me.
16. You hold the key to my heart.
17. You lift me up.
18. You light up my life.
19. You make my heart skip a beat.
20. You mean the world to me.
21. You rock my world.
22. You stole my heart.

They say that french is the most romantic language in the world, hence, I have compiled a couple of french nicknames which you can use on your boyfriend. Love is an indescribable feeling, and it permeates every culture and city, transcending racial and cultural boundaries. Also, it is intriguing to see how cultural traditions can shape the etymology and origins of language when it comes to love.