How To Say I Love You to a Japanese Girl with Success

The key to saying I love you to a Japanese girl with success is indirectness.
How to say I love you to a Japanese girl and yet being indirect?
And why shall I say I love you to a Japanese girl when I meant it but have to be indirect?

I love you is a 3 letter word.

I love you is a simple 3 letter word.
There is a also a simple version of I love you in Japanese - 愛してる Aishiteru. 4 letter word.
Slightly longer, but definitely not hard to pronounce.

Although this sounds like a pretty simple way to say I love you to a Japanese girl, it is not often used.
If I don`t say I love you, what do I say?

If you watch Japanese movies or Japanese drama, you would probably come across scenes where the guys would confess to the Japanese girls.
But they don't say I love you.
They say, I like you.

How to say I love you in Japanese?

Kimi no koto ga suki

Suki

Daisuki

Either of the above, it all mean I love you in Japanese.

Wait a minute, isnt 好き suki means LIKE?

But I want to say I love you not I like you.
Isn`t love and like different?

I love you vs I like you

Yes, to many Western culture, it is very direct, I love you is I love you.
I like you is I like you.
Love is stronger than like.

When you say I love you to a non Japanese girl, it is a love confession.

When you say I like you to a non Japanese girl, it is a statement of admiration. A praise. Just that! Dot!

It is pretty direct.
I love you is I love you.
I like you is I like you.

In Japanese culture, it is different.

I like you is I love you.

When you say I like you to a Japanese girl, no matter you say

Kimi no koto ga suki

Suki

Daisuki

...it all means I love you.

What if all I wanted is to praise her and just that?
Avoid the word suki.
For example,
Kimi no koto ga subarashii to omou yo.
I think you are great.

Saying I love you is pretty indirect.
You say I like you to mean I love you.

 

Why do I need to be indirect when saying I love you to a Japanese girl?

It is called 曖昧表現 aimai hyougen (ambiguous expression).
To put it simply, i don't say it clearly, but you know what I mean.

Surprisingly, aimai hyougen (ambiguous expression) is widely used among Japanese people.
It is part of the Japanese culture.

Japanese people are said to be shy and they care deeply with how the other feel.
To avoid embarrassment to others or themselves, aimai hyougen (ambiguous expression) is used.

So is saying I love you.

Kimi no koto ga suki

Suki

Daisuki

Above are the aimai hyougen (ambiguous expression) for saying I love you to a Japanese girl.

 

Conclusion

As a conclusion, if you fell in love with a Japanese girl. Say I love you to her.
Remember how to say I love you to a Japanese girl?

Kimi no koto ga suki

Suki

Daisuki

Take the initiative. Be proactive. Tell her before someone does.
Your own happiness lies in these 3 simple words - I love you. 大好き DAISUKI.