The difference between saying 'I love you' and...

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Replies

  • JennyLisT
    JennyLisT Posts: 402 Member
    Hm...doesn't hit me, treats me kindly, seems to genuinely enjoy spending time with me, supports my personal goals, etc...

    But sometimes he drops the "I" and just says "love you". I didn't think about it until now, but you all have helped me realize something.

    The sonuva***** must be cheating.
  • IamOnMywayNow
    IamOnMywayNow Posts: 470 Member
    My husband says" i love you you sexy slut" or sometimes he says" love you dirty *kitten*". Of course i know he loves me so i dont care how he says it as long as he says it. He really does not think i am slut or a *kitten*.that is just how he expresses his love for me. I dont mind at all :)
  • Can I just clarify to those posters who are finding amusement from the 'over attached girlfriend' comments and commenting on my relationship;

    I didn't once say this was about my own personal relationship, nor did i ask you to make a comment on it.
    I have no problem with my own relationship, I posted this literally out of curiosity, to start a debate or conversation.

    -thanks to those who didn't jump to that conclusion.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
    Love you is a generic term when you either don't mean it or mean it in the sense of a frienship love. To tell a person I love you mean just that. I love you with more than a superficial friendy kind of love. Just my opinion
  • corn63
    corn63 Posts: 1,580 Member
    I see no difference between the two. My personal pet peeve is "I love you/love you" and "Love ya". Sheer annoyance.
  • Icelandic_Saga
    Icelandic_Saga Posts: 2,926 Member

    love u :flowerforyou:



    ono! wtf?

    tumblr_m7nfinCSEf1rql87s.gif

    you didnt say I love you
    :laugh: :laugh:

    Love is love no matter how I tell my husband!
    Personally I think the way you show eachother is much more important :)
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    There's a simple guide:

    I love you - Loving feelings for those who mean the most to you in the world

    Love you - Someone who means a lot, you'll say it in passing.

    Love ya - You're dead to me and I want to stab your face.

    Also any I love you's in type format that lack exclamation points are clearly sent by monsters with no heart.
  • I dont think there is a difference, I just think its a way of shortening the phrase, my fiance and I say "love you" all the time, now when we are being intimate or we are trying to put emphasis on it I do tend to see that we will say " I love you" during those times, like if we are on the phone on a "just thinking bout you" call we tend to say " love you" but if we are in each others presence and then its more of a " hey I love you"....
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    'love you'

    Do you think there is some sort of subconscious meaning behind the two?

    Do you think if your partner were to just say 'love you' most of the time rather than saying 'I love you' there is much to be interpreted by that?

    I'm an over-thinker and I'm just curious as to if other people think there is underlying meaning behind it or if it's nothing.

    no, my husband and i say 'love you' all the time. i rarely say 'i love you' to him... but it means the same to us. he is the best thing EVER!
  • her4g63
    her4g63 Posts: 284 Member
    143 for anyone that remembers pagers.

    Hah! I so see what you did there! (;
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    'love you'

    Do you think there is some sort of subconscious meaning behind the two?

    Do you think if your partner were to just say 'love you' most of the time rather than saying 'I love you' there is much to be interpreted by that?

    I'm an over-thinker and I'm just curious as to if other people think there is underlying meaning behind it or if it's nothing.

    Wow, you sound just like me. I've had the same though before. My boyfriend says both. I always feel more loved when he says, "I love you." He also seems to be more serious and intent when he puts the "I" before it. I know I'm an over thinker though. He says both so I don't let it bother me :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    People are different. It totally depends on the partner whether either phrase means less or more than the other. But if you question the meaning behind something, there is often a reason that you do.
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    'love you'

    Do you think there is some sort of subconscious meaning behind the two?

    Do you think if your partner were to just say 'love you' most of the time rather than saying 'I love you' there is much to be interpreted by that?

    I'm an over-thinker and I'm just curious as to if other people think there is underlying meaning behind it or if it's nothing.

    Wow, you sound just like me. I've had the same though before. My boyfriend says both. I always feel more loved when he says, "I love you." He also seems to be more serious and intent when he puts the "I" before it. I know I'm an over thinker though. He says both so I don't let it bother me :)
  • sexyrosey
    sexyrosey Posts: 137
    I have thought the same thing. My boyfriend says...love you. I always say ...I love you. I think we are just over thinking it or at least I hope this is the case. :wink:
  • I think you're over thinking. A lot.

    agree
  • darkrider42
    darkrider42 Posts: 5,422 Member
    143 for anyone that remembers pagers.

    LOLOL!
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    Oops didn't mean to post the same thing twice. First one timed out and I didn't see it post. Something to add to that though. Sometimes my boyfriend will make a smart *kitten* comment to me, (just teasing/poking fun), then after he'll be like, "love yooou." Before we go to bed at night, he'll give me a kiss, look into my eyes and say, "I love you." So yeah, there's definitely a difference between the two in my opinion.
  • 143 for anyone that remembers pagers.

    thats a throwback classic right there lol
  • mollz007
    mollz007 Posts: 168 Member
    My husband and I almost always say "I love you" to eachother. I do think it sounds more sincere. I agree with one pf the PPs that "Love ya" can sound sarcastic depending on how it is said. My mom and I text it to eachother just because its our thing.
  • dougt333
    dougt333 Posts: 697
    It's just linguistics.
    In Cherokee you only say I love....it is assumed that the person you love is the one you are talking to otherwise you would finish the sentence. Like "I love lamp."
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
    Who cares. Cleaning the kitchen or scrubbing a toilet is way better than words. Choreplay!
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    love you, mean it.
  • pixtotts
    pixtotts Posts: 552 Member
    i kind of have a scale in my head... lowest to highest...

    love you/ loves you is lowest because its something id say to friends
    i like you, is as far as it ever got with my last boyfriend.. i was with him 3 years...
    i love you rolled round my mind a few times but never made it out... the next step more of a declaration
    im in love with you ...thats it... thats the big one... I have yet to utter or even think this one...

    but thats just me :D
    x
  • Dad_of_3
    Dad_of_3 Posts: 517 Member
    The first person personal singular pronoun "I" makes all the difference in the world. Words matter. "Love you" carries meaning, and is a great reminder that I love a person. However, when I say " 'I' love you", there is emphasis on the fact that I, a particular person, love this other particular person, and am actually experiencing the feelings of emotional love and attachment, for that other person. When I say "love you", it is usually a parting greeting. When I say "I love you" to my wife, I am expressing to her that at that moment I am taking the time to say she matters, I value her, and I love her.

    Yes, one single-letter word matters. Very much.
  • tootsanderson
    tootsanderson Posts: 1,636 Member
    it actually makes so little difference to me how it's said that i don't actually know which my husband says. or even which i say, for that matter.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Yes, you are over-thinking. Usually if hubby says, "I love you" first, then I respond, "love you too!" or "ditto, baby." Love is not about what you say, but about how you act and the things you do.
  • Bethie_B
    Bethie_B Posts: 292 Member
    Oh, it totally matters!

    I mean, if it's being said or typed to me and it doesn't come in this format: I looooooooove you!!!!!!

    Well, then clearly, I can tell that the person has absolutely no real affection for me whatsoever.
  • sh4690
    sh4690 Posts: 169 Member
    I don't know why, but I think the less I hear it the more I appreciate it.

    Completely different from my friend, she has a constant need for her partner to tell her he loves her and that he thinks she is beautiful etc etc. Also she asks him to say it (I have told her I find this pathetic) "Tell me I'm beautiful, tell me you love me". Urgh pass me the sick bucket. When I am around it is like he says it to her like 'I love you' just to get her off his back, pretty bad like.

    Me, I don't mind not hearing it every day, and I certainly won't ASK them to tell me. Like I said, I appreciate it more the less I hear it, I also believe them more when they say it off their own back and not because I have asked them to :)
  • 76tech
    76tech Posts: 1,455 Member
    Words are only that, words. "Love you" "I love you" Whatever. The difference is how they're said. Someone can say something as simple as "good morning" and it means so very much more than someone else saying "I love you"

    Verbal communication is only one part of the equation. And it's a smaller part than some people realize.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    "I love you" feels more direct and intimate. There's nothing wrong with saying "love you", though. It's more casual, though I don't think it's necessarily dismissive. Anyway, you should probably know how the person feels without having to pay that much attention to whether or not there's an "i" in the phrase.
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