I love you in Bengali has three versions, and the only part that changes is the word for "you": আপনাকে (apnake), তোমাকে (tomake) or তোকে (toke). The readings on this page are a plain spelling with no accent marks. In bhalobashi, the bh is a b with a puff of air, as Wikivoyage describes it.
| Bengali | English | Style | Who you say it to |
|---|---|---|---|
| আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসি।ami tomake bhalobashi. | I love you. | Friendly | A partner, a close friend, family |
| আমি আপনাকে ভালোবাসি।ami apnake bhalobashi. | I love you. | Polite | Someone you address with respect |
| আমি তোকে ভালোবাসি।ami toke bhalobashi. | I love you. | Very casual | A very close friend, a child |
| তোমাকে ভালোবাসি।tomake bhalobashi. | I love you. | Friendly | The same people, with ami left out |
| আমি তোমাকে খুব ভালোবাসি।ami tomake khub bhalobashi. | I love you very much. | Friendly | The same people |
আমি (ami) is "I", and ভালোবাসি (bhalobashi) is "I love". Bengali often drops আমি, as the FSI course does in ভালো আছি (bhalo achhi), "I am well". The three words for "you" are the same levels Bengali uses everywhere: apni is polite, tumi is friendly, and tui is for people very close to you. The FSI course calls tui very informal, for close friends and children, so keep it for people who are close to you.
You will also see তোমায় (tomay) in songs and poems, as in the line আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি in Tagore's song Amar Sonar Bangla, which Wiktionary quotes. It is a shorter form of তোমাকে.
Bengali pronouns do not mark gender, so a man and a woman say আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসি with the same words, to anyone.
Both spellings exist. Wiktionary gives ভালোবাসা as the main entry and ভালবাসা as an alternative form. This page writes ভালোবাসি.
| Bengali | English | Said to |
|---|---|---|
| আমিও তোমাকে ভালোবাসি।amio tomake bhalobashi. | I love you too. | A partner, a close friend, family |
| আমিও আপনাকে ভালোবাসি।amio apnake bhalobashi. | I love you too. | Someone you address with respect |
The FSI course writes "I am also well" as ami o bhalo achhi, and the same আমিও (amio) turns "I love you" into "I love you too".
ভালোবাসা is the verb "to love", and it fits family. For things you enjoy, such as food or music, Bengali more often says ভালো লাগে (bhalo lage), "is good to me", which is milder. Wikibooks lists bhalobasha, "love", beside other ways to say you like something.
| Bengali | English |
|---|---|
| আমি আমার মাকে ভালোবাসি।ami amar make bhalobashi. | I love my mother. |
| আমার চা ভালো লাগে।amar cha bhalo lage. | I like tea. |
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Saying আমি তোকে ভালোবাসি to someone you have only just met. | Use তুমি for a friendly tone, or আপনি if you want to be respectful. |
| Using আপনাকে with a partner. | It sounds formal. The usual choice between partners is তোমাকে. |
| Writing আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসী. | The verb ends in a short ি: ভালোবাসি. |
To read these words in the original script, start with the Bengali alphabet course. Read the best way to learn Bengali for a study plan, and see how are you in Bengali for the next phrase to learn.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Bengali. You learn from Bengali you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Bengali lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Poppy writes each lesson for your level, on topics you pick.
- Each lesson plays AI audio while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- The Bengali Alphabet course teaches the letters with pictures and sounds. You can read lessons in Roman letters while you learn them.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Bubblegum teaches standard written Bengali, so it has no lessons in regional dialects.
- You can't turn your own Bengali books into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches the Bengali Alphabet
Mobile
Is There a Different I Love You for a Man and a Woman in Bengali?
No. Wikipedia's Bengali grammar notes that Bengali pronouns do not mark gender, and ভালোবাসি (bhalobashi) stays the same whoever says it.
Which Bengali App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Bengali, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. For other apps, see our Bengali app comparison.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wiktionary: ভালোবাসা (to love; alternative spelling ভালবাসা; a quoted line with তোমায় ভালোবাসি)
- FSI Bengali course, unit 2: Greetings and basic phrases (apni, tumi and tui and their levels; ami o bhalo achhi)
- Wikipedia: Bengali grammar (pronouns do not mark gender)
- Wikibooks: Bengali/Liking and disliking (pochondo kora, bhalobasha and other ways to say like and love)
- Wikivoyage: Bengali phrasebook (the aspirated bh)
