We say “I love you” all-year round to friends, family, and significant others, but Valentine’s Day is provides an extra-special occasion. Take the opportunity to say “I Love You” in one of these languages from Africa’s 54 countries, and make sure to also check out our list of 54 ways to express your love through food, music, and more!
Afar – spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia: ko kicinio
Afrikaans – spoken in South Africa, and Namibia: Ek’s lief vir jou / Ek het jou lief
Akan/Twi/Fante – spoken in Ghana: Me dowapaa
Amharic – spoken in Ethiopia: afekirishalehu (feminine), afekirhalehu (masculine)
Arabic – spoken in Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, and Western Sahara:
- to a man – (ana uħibbuk) ٲنَا ٱحِبُّك
- to a woman – (ana baħibbik) ٲنَا بَحَِّك
Bambara – spoken in Mali: M’bi fe
Bemba – spoken in Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, and Democratic People’s Republic of Congo: Nalikutemwa
Berber – spoken in Algeria: Lakh tirikh
Chichewa/Chewa – spoken in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe: ndimakukonda
Ewe – spoken in Togo, Ghana and Benin: Me lonwo
Yaounde-Fang (including Ewondo) – spoken in Gabon and Cameroon: ma dzing wa / ma gnôre wa
French – spoken in Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Comoros, Cote D’Ivore, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, and Tunisia: Je t’aime
Fula/Fulani – spoken in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Cameroon, and Mauritania: mi yidi ma
Ganda/Luganda – spoken in Uganda: Nkwagala Nyo
Gikuyu/Kikuyu – spoken in Kenya: Neguedete
Hausa – spoken in Niger, Nigeria: Ina Sonki
Igbo – spoken in Nigeria: A hurum gi nanya
Kamba – spoken in Kenya: Ningwemdete
Kanuri – spoken in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon: Nya Raakna
Kirundi/Kinyarwanda – spoken in Burundi and Rwanda: Ndagukunda
Kikongo/Kongo – spoken in Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Republic of the Congo: Mono ke zola nge
Lingala – spoken in Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of the Congo: Nalingi yo
Luo – spoken in Kenya and Tanzania: Aheri
Luba-Kasai/Tshiluba – spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ndi mukusua
Malagasy – spoken in Madagascar: Tiako ianao
Malinke – spoken in Gambia: ni bi fe
Mandingo/Mandinka – spoken in Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau and Chad: Nye kanu laye
Mende – spoken in Sierra Leone: cale sa duie ca upeif
Moore/Dagbani – spoken in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Mali: Mi ndigui
Ndebele – spoken in Zimbabwe: Niyakutanda
Nyanja – spoken in Zambia: Ndikufuna
Oromo – spoken in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya: Ani sin Jaaladha
Oshiwambo – spoken in Angola and Namibia: Ondi ku hole
Portuguese – spoken in Angola, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe: amo te
Pular – spoken in Guinea: Mbe de yid ma
Punu – spoken in Gabon: ni u rondi
Sango – spoken in Central African Republic: mbi yé mô
Setswana/Tswana – spoken in Botswana: Ke a go rata
Shona – spoken in Zimbabwe and Zambia: Ndinokuda!
SiSwati – spoken in Swaziland: Ngiyakutsandza
Somali – spoken in Somalia: Wa ku jeelahay
Sesotho – spoken in Lesotho: Ke a o rata
Soussou – spoken in Guinea: iran fan ma
Spanish – spoken in Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, and Western Sahara: Te quiero
Sukuma/Nyamwezi – spoken in Tanzania: itogwa benekele ne benekele
Swahili – spoken in Burundi, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda:
- Ninakupenda
- Begg naa la (general)
Tigre – spoken in Eritrea: ana enti efete
Tigrinya – spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia: Y’fetwekum e’ye
Tsonga – spoken in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe: na ku rhandza
Vai – spoken in Liberia, and Sierra Leone: Na lia
Wolof – spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania:
- Sopp naa la (I admire you – when courting)
- Nopp naa la (between partners)
Xhosa – spoken in South Africa and Lesotho: Ndiya kuthanda
Yorùbá – spoken in Benin and Nigeria: Mo nifẹẹ rẹ
Zulu- spoken in South Africa and Lesotho: Ngiyakuthanda
This look at the linguistic diversity of Africa is not meant to be exhaustive or take into account the many dialects. But if you see a mistake or think the list can be improved, leave a comment below!
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