Happy Love Day! Few topics have inspired such a wide array of proverbs, idioms, and expressions as romantic love. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we've listed below our favorite idioms about love from different cultures all over the world.
1. 一見鍾情 - Yī jiàn zhōng qíng (Chinese)
Translation: Love at First Sight
A classic expression found in many languages across the world, this phrase describes that inexplicable feeling of falling in love in a mere instant. In French, the phrase translates as ‘coup de foudre’, or being struck by lightning.
2. 一日三秋 - Yī rì sān qiū (Chinese)
Translation: One day, three autumns
A rather poetic and succinct way to describe the way time passes when you miss someone – when even a single day can feel like three years.
3. Vivre d’amour et d’eau fraiche (French)
Translation: to live on love and fresh water
This describes the feeling of needing nothing but love and fresh water to live, or in other words – to be so much in love that you care little about anything else.
4. El amor es ciego, pero los vecinos no (Spanish)
Translation: Love is blind, but not the neighbors.
This cheeky Spanish expression that reminds us that even if you are too in love to care what others think, others may still gossip.
5. El enamorado y el pez, frescos han de ser (Spanish)
Translation: Love and fish, fresh must be.
Another reminder that love is at its most euphoric in its beginning stages.
6. Poser un lapin (French)
Translation: to put down a rabbit.
This common French expression refers to someone that does not show up for a meeting or date and is generally similar to the English expression ‘to stand someone up’.
7. 一刀两断 - Yī dāo liǎng duàn (Chinese)
Translation: One knife, two segments
This Chinese idiom describes the firm resolution to make a clean break or to sever a relationship completely.
Hope you enjoyed our list! Do any of these particularly resonate with you? Do you have a favorite expression about love or Valentine's Day? Let us know in the comments!