History Main / TheILoveYouStigma

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'':

In some instances, reaching the "I Love You" place is seen as point of no return, or at least an indication of a long term relationship. Ironically, sometimes declaring your love for someone ends up as a MomentKiller, not necessarily because the feelings aren't reciprocated but because the other person isn't ready for that commitment.

This depends on the language; a direct translation of "I love you" can be a stronger or weaker statement in other languages. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" -- ''Ich liebe dich'' -- implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love -- considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English. Cantonese word for "kiss" (錫) can be used to as a protective, cutesy sense of romantic love, but is also often used as the familial love, especially of parents towards children, just to [[RelativeError muddy the waters further]].[[/note]] And even in English [[TheFourLoves the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways]], and [[CultureClash dating works differently in different cultures]].

* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': When Shinji and Asuka argue with Misato about their relationship, both of them point out neither of them is the kind of people would say "I love you" to anyone easily.

* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Although they became a couple after Shinji's LoveConfession, Asuka did not tell Shinji she loved him because she was unsure of her feelings and she was afraid of loving and getting attached to someone after years of emotional and even sexual abuse. She usually said she liked him, wanted him or even needed him, but she could not bring herself to admit outloud she loved him. Finally, in chapter 73 (two months and nearly fifty chapters after their RelationshipUpgrade) she confessed -under extreme circumstances -- she loved him.

** Shinji is not better. He told outloud he loved her for first time when he was [[spoiler:popping the question.]] Asuka was shocked and surprised when she heard it because she did not expect it at all.

* Princess Zelda in the Zelda/Impa fic ''Fanfic/InSottoVoce'' has this issue. She has trouble admitting her feelings for Impa and goes through mental gymnastics in order to [[spoiler:make the false idea of Impa using magic on her plausible]]. Zelda suffering from this is due to her mother's death as a child. [[spoiler:Her mother was DrivenToSuicide, and Zelda was the first to find her. Zelda grew up believing her love and her father's love wasn't good enough for her mother, though she understands her mother had a mental illness as well]]. As a result, Zelda has a hard time expressing her love for others.
* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': When Asuka asked him bluntly what she was to him, Shinji avoided to tell he loved her because he was afraid of scaring her away. So he settled for telling she meant a lot to him.
* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': Even though she was competing with Rei to win Shinji over, Asuka was unable to tell him "I love you" for a long time. In the first chapters she was barely capable to admit and tell openly she liked him.
* In ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/216550/to-romance-a-magician To Romance A Magician]]'', Twilight (after coming down with a serious case of the love bug) seeks out Trixie in Manehattan. After first nervously skirting around the subject until Trixie gets uncomfortable and tries to pardon herself, Twilight blurts out a loud "I love you!" In the middle of a crowded restaurant, too. Trixie's goes through a quick show of surprise, denial, anger and embarrassment, before literally fleeing the scene and leaving Twilight heartbroken. Twilight's friends point out that she just came on too strong.
* In ''FanFic/SpectacularSeven'', both Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle deal with this in different ways after they become an item. Sunset, because she's from another world, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome can't apply to colleges with the rest of her friends]], and so can't go with Twilight when she graduates high school. As such, Sunset eventually confesses to herself that she's in love with Twilight, but keeps it to herself to [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy avoid breaking Twilight's heart]]. On the other hand, Twilight wonders if the things she feels for Sunset are genuine romantic love or teenage hormones, and is almost apoplectic at her inability to [[MeasuringTheMarigolds scientifically quantify how she feels]]. Cadance eventually has to tell Twilight that some things can't be explained with science or hard facts, and that Twilight will know for sure if it's love or passion soon enough.

* ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': Even after getting together, Asuka is wary of saying Shinji she loves him due to her emotional hangups, hoping instead that her actions speak louder than words.

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Misty seemed to have a mild case of this, having difficulty saying out loud that she loved Ash, until Anabel and Iris assured her she shouldn't feel ashamed to say it.

** The only ''man'' who ever says it to him is Tiger Tanaka in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''; it's his SpySpeak code phrase.[[note]]Moneypenny ''also'' says it to Bond in the same film, but she's just telling him what the phrase is.[[/note]]
* ''Film/{{Rosaline}}'': Rosaline freezes when Romeo tells her he loves her, and worries that her reaction was what drove him to Juliet.

** Leonard and Penny had a nice little moment in bed where Penny quoted ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and knew the reference, which prompted [[GeekyTurnOn Leonard to say he loved her]]. Penny's response was a near catatonic blank stare before saying "Thank You?" The next several days was awkward, marked by increased fighting until Penny decided to end the relationship because she didn't want Leonard longing for her reciprocation when she didn't know when/if that would happen. She mentioned having said the words too early herself in a previous relationship and regretting it, though she didn't elaborate on the details.

* This is the focus of the ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' episode "What I Meant to Say". Cory tells Topanga he loves her despite the fact that they had only (officially) been going out for a few weeks and Topanga reacts with shocks and leaves immediately. She later breaks up with him and starts avoiding him. Cory confronts her about the issue and she explains that she was scared of those words and what they meant. Cory explains what exactly he means by "I love you", and she replies that she loves him, too.

** A variant: It's not that Phoebe is embarrassed about telling Jason "I love you"; it's that, as a result of her empath powers, she says "I love you ''too''" before he's actually says "I love you".

** It works the other way, too: Rose, River and Clara (and the TARDIS — [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife it's a long story]]) happen to be the only companions to directly say "I love you" to the Doctor. A side effect of this is that within ''Doctor Who'' fandom there is division between those who embrace the aspect of the Doctor having romantic feelings for his companions and those who say no such feelings exist and that the Doctor is simply expressing friendship, despite WordOfGod and even on-screen actions such as marriage and punching a diamond wall for ''4.5 billion years'' suggesting otherwise.
** The closest thing to an exception occurs in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]] when the Doctor rages at a military commander, telling him how bad an idea it is to try to "get to me through the people I love." Notably, this is not an expression of ''romantic'' love, and refers to both Amy and Rory.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' had Josh having a nice moment with his girlfriend Mindy, and at a goodnight kiss at the door Mindy told him "I love you." Josh was flummoxed and awkwardly hurried her away, and after an episode of [[HilarityEnsues misunderstandings and mind games]] they had a more honest conversation about the ordeal. Josh said he wasn't sure what loving someone actually meant and Mindy admitted to feeling weird after saying it. They agreed to be JustFriends for a time so they can better understand their feelings, and they get back together in the GrandFinale.

** Frasier learns that Roz's current boyfriend is one of Niles' patients, and that he has a pattern of breaking off relationships as soon as the woman says "I love you". After struggling with the ethical implications of violating confidentiality Frasier rushes to Roz's apartment to warn her...but it's too late. Roz tried to tell the boyfriend she loved him only for him to dump her.

** When Ross dates Mona, they have the talk about moving forward in their relationship. They evaluate symbolical value of (not) sending holiday cards together, giving a key to their apartment and getting locks changed. Mixed signals much? Finally, Ross tells Mona he loves her (though he doesn't feel it) and Mona tells him she loves spending time with him too (which was deemed to be a slap in the face by Monica and Phoebe).
** Chandler says it to Monica twice. The first time he blurts it out and then takes it back in panic because he's not ready. The second time he yells it out in front of all their friends and refuses to revoke it. This time, she happily says it back. Before they got together, they were so close that they mentioned they loved each other on several occasions. However, the relationship -- and declaration -- was platonic. It's only after they started having sex that Chandler began panicking about their emotional bond; something Monica had anticipated as she was very well-versed in his CommitmentIssues.

* In one episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', Sophia tells a man she loves him after rushing into bed with him. When he doesn't return it, she is outraged at him (and Blanche, who pushed her into sleeping with him). At the end it turns out he does love her, but just hasn't told anyone he loved them since his wife passed away.

* In its spinoff ''Series/HowIMetYourFather'' Sophie is put off by Jesse sleepily telling her he loves her the night they get together, though he stands by this since they had been friends for awhile before making it official.

* ''Series/MyBoys'' downplays the trope by using it as another stage of a relationship instead some big, dramatic event. P.J. and Bobby decide to buy a condo and move in together because they were distracted by having a nice day in the middle of winter. P.J. started to second-guess herself by realizing they hadn't even reached the "I love you" part of their relationship yet. She confessed her feelings to Bobby and they back out of moving in together, but reach the "I love you" part.
* In the ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' episode The Bus, this is the episode A-plot as Ned is trying to get back a note he wrote Susie Crabgrass saying he loves her. As Moze points out, saying I Love You too soon is like picking out a wedding cake on your first date.
* ''Series/NoahsArc'': Ricky hesitates to tell Junito he loves him over fear of him saying it changing things for the worse (as well as some deep-seated difficulties with commitment).

** In "Harvest Festival", April tells Andy she loves him and gets angry at him when his response is "That's awesome sauce!" Subverted in that he actually did love her too, but he just didn't realize this was THE LoveConfession because [[TheDitz he's an idiot.]] When Ron tells him explicitly why April is mad at him, he tells her he loves her too, and clarifies his original remark: "That's what makes the sauce so awesome!"
** A lighter example in the episode "Women in Garbage": Ron lets slip that he loves his new girlfriend Diane, causing Ann, Jerry and Diane's young daughters into fits of laughter due to the usually [[TheStoic stoic]] RatedMForManly Ron expressing emotions of this kind (with Ann herself finding it the cutest thing ever).

** An early episode has Turk generally grumpy, especially towards [[BetaCouple Carla,]] and there isn't any real excuse for it. Carla, expecting him to break up with her, eventually just demands he say what he wants to say and get it over with. Turk marches up to her, tells her how annoying he finds her then says "I love you, I want to spend every annoying minute with you." This is a great surprise to Carla, who responds in kind. The following episode was actually about a degree of fall-out with them expressing their love for each other, as Carla started panicking about where this relationship is going. They eventually get married.
** Dr. Cox started seeing his ex-wife Jordan on a regular basis in a FriendsWithBenefits sort of way, eventually having a family together despite not being married. They acted on the idea they were embracing a long-term non-committal relationship, but by the end Dr. Cox flat out stated that they did love each other and was tired of pretending they didn't.
** It was a point of contention for Elliot when Keith was able to freely say "I love you" but she found herself unable to respond in kind, because she was afraid being vulnerable and admitting to herself that their relationship was that serious. He told her that he didn't mind, and that he was willing to wait to hear her say it, but it made Elliot paranoid that she might eventually drive him away if she didn't say it. When she does finally work up the courage to say it, she tries to blurt it out casually and hurriedly, and quickly looks away so that Keith wouldn't see her crying.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' has an awkward platonic version. In a moment of drunken candor, O'Brien says that people tend to have a love or hate relationship with Bashir. He himself hated Bashir when they first met, but now he, um, doesn't.

* In ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', Charlie confesses his love to Chelsea, but she only says "Thank you" in response. Charlie believes this means she now has the upper hand in the relationship, and goes as far as proposing to her solely to force her to say it back. They do stay engaged for a season after this, however.

* ''Series/{{Wizards of Waverly Place}}'': Alex always hesitates to tell Dean she loves him. Instead, she ends up saying "I love...this card" or "How do you think of me...in flipflops? Thinking about going casual this summer?".

--> Come on over tonight, we'll sit on the swing
--> Watchin' the pigs fly by, flappin' their brand-new wings.
--> Just sit back and relax and watch me eat my hat.
--> See the premiere performance of "Demons on Ice"
--> As I say the words I swore I'd never say in my whole life...
--> Say, come on over tonight.

--> Heavy words are hard to take, under pressure precious things can break
--> And how we feel is hard to fake, so let's not give the game away
--> Just please don't say you love me, 'cause I might not say it back
--> Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
--> There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
--> Just please don't say you love me, 'cause I might not say it back...

* The first ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' trilogy shows a variation of the trope on Mint's route. Rather than having difficulties admitting her feelings for Tact, she's embarrassed about saying the words out loud in front of other people. This puts a heavy strain in their relationship when Tact tries to get her to admit that she loves him and she refuses.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. Sarah saying "[[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=98 I love you]]" to Elliot is treated as a serious thing, and [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1579 colors the way he treats their resulting relationship.]] [[spoiler:As a result he never really noticed that he wasn't really attracted to her, and [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1596 saw her more]] [[LikeBrotherAndSister like a sister.]]]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Haley, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0184.html believing herself to be dying]], nearly tells Elan "I love you". When Durkon heals her, she pulls a LastSecondWordSwap and ends it with "...ukuleles" instead. Elan naturally [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} sees nothing strange about professing your musical preferences like that]], although personally he's more of a banjo fan.

* {{Parodied}} on ''WesternAnimation/DanVs,'' when [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Dan]] is pulling an OfCorpseHesAlive with [[ExtremeDoormat Chris]] (who's not dead, just extremely close) to make him "agree" to going along with his revenge plot. At one point he fakes Chris saying "I love you," then acts uncomfortable before hastily changing the subject. Note that this part happens when nobody else was even around to trick.

Compare the LoveConfession, BaitAndSwitchSetiment, CommitmentIssues, CannotSpitItOut, and TheFourLoves. The recipient (or the one who'd said it, but wishes to cover up) might use IUhYouToo in response.

This depends on the language; a direct translation of "I love you" can be a stronger or weaker statement in other languages. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love - considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English. Cantonese word for "kiss" (錫) can be used to as a protective, cutesy sense of romantic love, but is also often used as the familial love, especially of parents towards children, just to [[RelativeError muddy the waters further]].[[/note]] And even in English [[TheFourLoves the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways]], and [[CultureClash dating works differently in different cultures]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* A plot point in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' -- if the titular magical girl ever tells Mytho that she loves him, she will vanish in a speck of light. [[spoiler: She finds a workaround by doing it through dance and pantomime.]]

* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Although they became a couple after Shinji's LoveConfession, Asuka did not tell Shinji she loved him because she was unsure of her feelings and she was afraid of loving and getting attached to someone after years of emotional and even sexual abuse. She usually said she liked him, wanted him or even needed him, but she could not bring herself to admit outloud she loved him. Finally, in chapter 73 (two months and nearly fifty chapters after their RelationshipUpgrade) she confessed -under extreme circumstances- she loved him.

* Despite romancing many women in the movie series, Film/JamesBond usually never utters the phrase (though the women utter it regularly). The only exception to date: he says "I love you" when he proposes marriage to Tracy in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. [[spoiler: It does not end well.]]

** Chandler says it to Monica twice. The first time he blurts it out and then takes it back in panic because he's not ready. The second time he yells it out in front of all their friends and refuses to revoke it. This time, she happily says it back. Before they got together, they were so close that they mentioned they loved each other on several occasions. However, the relationship - and declaration - was platonic. It's only after they started having sex that Chandler began panicking about their emotional bond; something Monica had anticipated as she was very well-versed in his CommitmentIssues.

* Porn films and videos are criticized for many reasons, one of which is the fact that - with the exception of actual porn ''movies'' with plots and characters, and even then it's not ubiquitous - the phrase "I love you" is rarely uttered.
* A true story printed in ''Reader's Digest'' had a man recounting his decision to say "I love you" more. It was [[CringeComedy funny in a rather sad way]] - his wife wondered if he was covering up an affair, and his mother reacted as though he was expecting her to drop dead at any moment.

Compare the LoveConfession, LoveYouAndEverybody, CommitmentIssues, CannotSpitItOut, and TheFourLoves. The recipient (or the one who'd said it, but wishes to cover up) might use IUhYouToo in response.

* Weaponized in ''Anime/{{Sarazanmai}}''. [[spoiler:When Mabu is brought BackFromTheDead, he is forced to not tell Reo that he loves him or his now-cybernetic heart will explode.]]

[[quoteright:314:[[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Scott_Pilgrim_vs_The_World_comic_image_for_The_I_Love_You_Stigma_8326.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:314:IT BURNS!]]

[[caption-width-right:314:[-IT BURNS-]!]]

This depends on the language; a direct translation of "I love you" can be a stronger or weaker statement in other languages, and even in English [[TheFourLoves the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways]]. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love - considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English. Cantonese word for "kiss" (錫) can be used to as a protective, cutesy sense of romantic love, but is also often used as the familial love, especially of parents towards children, just to [[RelativeError muddy the waters further]].[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.

This depends on the language; a direct translation of "I love you" can be a stronger or weaker statement in other languages, and even in English the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love - considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English. Cantonese word for "kiss" (錫) can be used to as a protective, cutesy sense of romantic love, but is also often used as the familial love, especially of parents towards children, just to [[RelativeError muddy the waters further]].[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.

* In ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', Ataru is so stubbornly resistant to telling Lum he loves her (and not in the way that he [[CasanovaWannabe "loves" all girls]]) that he refuses to do so even in the final volume when she's on the verge of leaving Earth forever if he doesn't say the words to her. He manages to find a way around this by showing her that he kept her old horns as a keepsake which is proof enough for her of his feelings for him but when she tells him on the final page that she'll get him to say he loves her someday, he replies that he'll only say it on his deathbed.

* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Martin breaks up with Sherry out of the blue. While the boys [[ParentWithNewParamour are initially delighted]], they're surprised to learn that he'd told her he loved her for the first time only a few days earlier. When Frasier digs a little deeper, it turns out that Martin did actually feel that way, but he felt deeply guilty about saying it to another woman for the first time since [[TheLostLenore the death of his wife]]. After working through that, they get back together.

This depends on the language; a direct translation of "I love you" can be a stronger or weaker statement in other languages, and even in English the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love - considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English.[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.

* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Martin breaks up with Sherri out of the blue. While the boys [[ParentWithNewParamour are initially delighted]], they're surprised to learn that he'd told her he loved her for the first time only a few days earlier. When Frasier digs a little deeper, it turns out that Martin did actually feel that way, but he felt deeply guilty about saying it to another woman for the first time since [[TheLostLenore the death of his wife]]. After working through that, they get back together.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' had Arnold trying to attract Lila and get upgraded from an "I like you" to an "I 'like you' like you." Still not quite using the term (they ''are'' only 8-9), but the implications behind it are the same.

This may depend on the language. In some languages a perfectly fine translation of "I love you" can be a ''much'' weaker sentence with much less powerful implications, as even in English the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children. 我愛你 in [[UsefulNotes/ChineseDialectsAndAccents Chinese]] is usually a serious declaration of romantic love - considered particularly formal in Cantonese. 我鍾意你 (Cantonese) and 我喜歡你 (Mandarin) are equivalents of "I like you", but a bit more romantic than English.[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.

->''"You know what? You gave it away too early. You're an 'I love you' slut."''
-->-- '''Robin''' to Ted, ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''

This may depend on the language. In some languages a perfectly fine translation of "I love you" can be a ''much'' weaker sentence with much less powerful implications, as even in English the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children.[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.

Note this is essentially an English-speaking world thing. In some languages a perfectly fine translation of "I love you" can be a ''much'' weaker sentence with much less powerful implications, as even in English the term can be used casually and in a wide variety of ways. A {{Woolseyism}} may be needed in translation to get the proper tone. [[note]]In [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] "''aimer''" means "like" as much as "love". Spanish has "Te quiero" and "Te amo", which both mean I Love You, but the later is MUCH more serious. "Te quiero" implies a more general, platonic love than "Te amo", and is used more typically between friends and family. In German the literal translation of "I love you" - ''Ich liebe dich'' - implies a romantic meaning much more than in English, while the phrase ''Ich hab dich lieb'' (English equivalent: "I have/feel love for you") is used to express love in the non-romantic sense, such as that between parents and their children.[[/note]] And even within the English-speaking world, dating works differently in different cultures.