How to say "I love you" in Korean (사랑해, saranghae) — and what Koreans really say

An airport in Seoul. A couple hugs at the gate. One of them steps back and says one soft word: 사랑해 (saranghae, "I love you").

That is the word most people want to learn first. It is easy to say. The harder part is choosing the right form of it, and knowing when Koreans say something else instead.

One word, three levels

The core is the verb 사랑하다 (saranghada, "to love"). The National Institute of Korean Language describes it as caring for someone "with all one's heart." Korean changes the end of the verb to match the person you are talking to.

The casual form is 반말 (banmal, casual speech). The dictionary calls it speech for "two people who are very close." That is why 사랑해 sounds warm between lovers. If the levels are new to you, our guide to polite and casual Korean explains them in five minutes.

For a partner, say 사랑해. For your Korean friend's mom, say 사랑해요 — or better, say thank you.

Who says 사랑합니다?

You hear the formal form most from people on a stage. A singer bows to a stadium and shouts "사랑합니다!" A shop may write it on a sign for its customers. It sounds big, public and respectful.

Between two people alone, 사랑합니다 can sound a little stiff, like a speech. Some couples use it on purpose, as a joke or for a serious moment. But it is not the everyday choice.

How do you answer?

Keep it short. Add 도 (do), a small word that means "too" or "also."

• 나도 사랑해 (nado saranghae) — "I love you too." Casual.
• 저도 사랑해요 (jeodo saranghaeyo) — "I love you too." Polite. 저 is the polite word for "I."

You can also just smile and say "나도." In a real conversation, that one word is often enough.

Do Koreans say it every day?

It depends on the person and the family. Many couples say 사랑해 often, in person and in messages. With parents, it can be a different story.

The wish is there, though. In a 2023 survey reported by The Korea Herald, "I love you" was the words children most wanted to hear from their parents on Children's Day, chosen by 37.8 percent.

So love is often shown in other ways. A parent may ask 밥 먹었어? [밤 머거써?] (bap meogeosseo?, "Did you eat?") instead. We wrote a whole piece on why "Did you eat?" can mean "I care about you".

Smaller words that say a lot

Koreans have softer lines that people use far more often than the big one:

• 좋아해 (joahae) — "I like you." It is often the first step, long before 사랑해.
• 보고 싶어 [보고 시퍼] (bogo sipeo) — "I miss you," literally "I want to see you." Very common in messages.
• 자기야 (jagiya) — "honey" or "darling." The dictionary notes that young couples use 자기 to call each other.

And sometimes there are no words at all. The finger heart — crossing your thumb and index finger into a tiny heart — is a quick, cute way to say it with one hand. K-pop stars helped spread it around the world. For more about that cute style of speaking, see what 애교 (aegyo) means.

A note on spelling

You will see "saranghae," "saranghe" and "salanghae" online. The official spelling is saranghae. Korean has one sound between "r" and "l," which is why spellings mix. Our romanization guide explains the system.

In one line: 사랑해 for your person, 사랑해요 for your parents, 사랑합니다 for a crowd — and 보고 싶어 for every day in between.

Want to see if it stuck? One of the questions in today's 5 might test it.