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What's the difference between "Ich habe dich lieb" and "Ich liebe dich"?

Both are defined as "I love you" in many dictionaries, as I've checked.

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I've heard Germans say "there's a difference but hard to explain", I wonder if there really is a difference or it's just their biased opinion. – user508 Aug 30 '11 at 1:05
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Interesting you ask that, since I experienced the exact same confusion even though being a native German - over 10 years ago, a girl I loved said "Ich hab dich lieb" to me and meant "Ich mag dich sehr gern", but I understood it as "Ich liebe dich". The good part of it is, that today she's my wife, so no harm done. ;-) – Geziefer Feb 29 '12 at 7:19
Not quite sure about this but what range of emotions and commitment does "you are (near and) dear to me" cover? – VolkerK Jan 23 at 10:21
@MODS: Can this Q be "protected" please, it keeps attracting Answers from new users with nothing insightful to add. – Eugene Seidel Mar 5 at 7:19

13 Answers

up vote 37 down vote accepted

"Ich liebe dich" is stronger and more profound than "Ich habe dich lieb". The difference is hard, if not impossible, to translate to English, or only with some extra language acrobatics; but in German, there is indeed a difference.

"Ich habe dich lieb" is commonly used among somewhat close and beloved family members, such as towards aunts/uncles/nieces/nephews, grandparents/grandchildren, parents/children etc., or as a more light-hearted, not quite as "binding" declaration of love for the significant other. Saying it to mere friends or acquaintances would be inappropriate usually.

(Edit: It can be used outside the family circle, among friends in a very affectionate way, but only towards someone who knows exactly how you mean it, unless you want to risk misunderstandings.)

"Ich liebe dich" is reserved for the significant other such as boy/girlfriend, wife/husband, or your closest family such as parents/children. It is the unambiguous declaration of love.

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I've not read or found anything about this part: ""Ich habe dich lieb" is commonly used among somewhat close and beloved family members, such as towards aunts/uncles/nieces/nephews, grandparents/grandchildren, parents/children etc.", do you have any citations? – user508 Aug 30 '11 at 3:01
And thanks for your answer. – user508 Aug 30 '11 at 3:01
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You're welcome. No citations, just my understanding as a native speaker. – Hackworth Aug 30 '11 at 7:04
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If you were completely right, why would people write HDL ("hab dich lieb") in text messages to their significant other? Or is someone who uses (god beware!) acronyms in text messages not serious? ;) Note that I'm not saying that Hackworth isn't right, it's still a +1 answer for me. It's just that the difference isn't as strict as this answer suggests. – OregonGhost Aug 30 '11 at 7:52
@OregonGhost I did write that HDL can be used in a love relationship. "HDL" specifically, in short messages, owes to the brevity of the, well, SHORT messages, and can be used even more liberally, since it's also more casual even than "Ich habe dich lieb". It's typically used among teenage girls, or young women being affectionate with each other. That may just be my prejudice though, I can offer no source other than my experience, so YMMV. – Hackworth Aug 30 '11 at 8:08
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up vote 5 down vote

"Ich habe Dich lieb" is commonly used as a sign of strong feeling of friendship, of being prepared to go the extra mile to make the other person happy, to care for him/her and not to wish anything ill. Even close relatives would nearly never say "Ich liebe Dich", but "Ich habe Dich lieb" (EDIT: with the noteable exception of children and their parents). The phrase gets more common when the age difference becomes bigger. Caring is a strong motive of that phrase.

"Ich liebe Dich" on the other hand suggests a closeness and desire including (but not restricted to) sexual meanings. That's one reason why relatives often shy away from that phrase. If you say "Ich liebe Dich" you usually imply you want to move together with that person and share rooms (and more) with him/her. It is a much stronger phrase with the emphasis on being and staying together.

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up vote 5 down vote

As far as I know, in English you have these gradations (I'm a German native speaker, so I'm not absolutely sure if there are more):

this is the weaker end of the list

I like you.
I love you.

this is the stronger end of the list

In German you can say it this ways:

this is the weaker end of the list

Ich mag dich.
Ich hab' dich gern.
Ich hab dich lieb.
Ich liebe dich.

this is the stronger end of the list

I would translate the first three as "I like you". Only "Ich liebe dich" is "I love you".

If you are creative, you will find even more shades (in both languages).

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up vote 3 down vote

I have never used "Ich liebe dich" with anybody but my significant other. Maybe it's more common in other parts of Germany, but "Ich hab' dich lieb" can be used for both family and spouse.

Additionally, you'll find "Ich liebe dich" in real literature, but "Ich hab' dich lieb" seems more casual and novel style to me.

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It's not really novel style nor casual. It goes back to Luther who translated the Bible Jesaja 43.4: ...und ich habe dich lieb. – Takkat♦ Sep 2 '11 at 20:38
Takkat, it might have been like that at Luther's time, but nowadays and in spoken language you will clearly hear "Ich hab' dich lieb" more often than "Ich liebe dich" – Kage Sep 5 '11 at 20:22
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This may be true for spoken German but may be not in writing if we trust this Google ngram – Takkat♦ Sep 6 '11 at 6:29
You are entitled to your own opinion, but if "Ich hab' dich lieb; mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt" (Der Erlkönig) doesn't sound strange to you. Or think of replacing all instances of "Ich liebe dich" with "Ich hab' dich lieb" in works of Goethe and Schiller... – Kage Sep 8 '11 at 21:23
@Takkat: The Google Ngram is really shocking, I didn't expect something like that. – user508 Nov 27 '11 at 13:00
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up vote 3 down vote

Ich hab dich lieb = agape (the love for a child, non-sexual love for someone)

Ich liebe dich = eros (desire, lust, sexual love)

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up vote 3 down vote

The concise explanation equating the Greek 'eros' and 'agape' is the best answer I've read, assuming knowledge of the Greek terms. I began learning German as a child and continued through college, have made several trips to Teutophonic (German-speaking) countries, and my teenage daughter is in a year-long exchange in Germany.

From my experience, 'Ich liebe dich' does translate as 'I love you' and is typically used between intimates, eg. 'I love you, Darling.' It is used more sparingly than the American/English counterpart. It is also used less seriously in friendships, cravings, and advertising, eg. 'I love you, luscious chocolate.'

'Ich hab dich lieb' translates as 'I have love for you' (awkward phrasing), but would be roughly the equivalent of 'I cherish/care for/am glad I am related to you.' It has two principle uses: between family members, eg. 'I love you, Grampa' and as a precursor to 'Ich liebe dich,' eg. 'I really like you, Sweetheart.' My daughter uses this phrase as a closing in many of her emails back home.

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up vote 2 down vote

As already mentioned Ich habe dich lieb is a not so strong version of love. It's meaning is most of the time the same as Ich liebe dich but put into a non-sexual/non-relationship context, like the feelings you have for your sister/brother.

But I've also seen it used very easily/watered down between teenagers (especially while communicating via text messages, (especially the shortened hdl, hab dich lieb)) to imply a simple friendship.

The best translation/explanation in English I can think of is I like you [very much] and I care for you. Though, that one might be off, too, because I'm not a native English speaker.

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"I love you" in English has two meanings, one sexual, and one deep caring. I use this phrase with my significant other, as well as with my parents, siblings and close extended family. "I like you [very much]" and "I care for you" might be weaker (or more awkward?) versions of "I [sexually] love you". This might be a case of many-to-one translations, rather than 1-to-1. – diN0bot Dec 28 '11 at 4:38
up vote 2 down vote

The reason that the google ngram shows a higher usage of "ich liebe dich" vs. "i hab(e) dich lieb" is because there are so many translation books that teach non-natives to say "ich liebe dich". It's overly commonly taught. I have never once seen a translation book teach "ich hab(e) dich lieb" (but they should). This heavily skews the results. This is why "results" do nothing to combat native speakers experience.

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up vote 1 down vote

Ich habe dich lieb is something a little girl would say to her mommy.

Ich liebe dich is the ultimate expression of emotion a person can make towards another and is used sparingly, as it easily comes across as pointlessly melodramatic. A little girl would only use that towards her mother if she had watched too many cheezy, badly translated Hollywood rom coms.

Also, in German, noone would ever say something like I love you, but I'm not in love with you as they do so often in Hollywood movies (errrmm, or so I heard...); in German, I love you is the ultimate, nothing will ever top that.

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up vote 0 down vote

"Ich habe dich lieb." sounds like it can be translated to "I hold you (very) dear.", or "You are (very) dear to me." It expresses deep affection / endearment, something that you don't feel for everybody.

"Ich liebe dich." can easily contain romantic meaning, and is probably most likely used in such contexts.

Disclaimer: I'm learning German still, but my maternal language, Romanian, seems to have many unexpected semantic similarities with German (they're also the source of an uncanny feeling while learning it). But that's the subjective opinion of a beginner.

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up vote -1 down vote

"Ich liebe dich" = I love you "Ich hab dich lieb"= I like you very much I always say "hab dich lieb" to my friends or family because if you say "ich liebe dich" to your best friend when he is a boy he would misunderstand you if you just want to say that you like him a lot :D

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up vote -1 down vote

I would say the phrase: Ich hab dich lieb, is more timely defined to the moment when said, while: ich liebe dich shows the deep and permanent feeling. In English I would use: I love you and you are lovely, as a reference. Something like that.

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up vote -1 down vote

"Ich habe dich Lieb" means "I have (some) love for you."

"Ich liebe dich means "I love you (a lot)."

The second is stronger than the first.

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