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German Word For Wanting Someone To Love You

I am writing a song in German because that is the only language I know well enough and is expressive enough to write a song in. I am only a B2 German speaker so far but I can look up less common words if I need them. Anyway the song is about wishing you had the courage to tell someone you like them and wishing they would just say they like you first so you wouldn't have to tell them. I am wondering if there is a word in German for wanting someone to like you. I can't find anything online and dictionary entries are usually limited to one word.

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The verb phrase you are looking for is sich nach jemandem sehnen — to long for someone.

Ich sehne mich nach dir.

The noun for that is called die Sehnsucht. Literally longing addiction.

A stronger way to express this uses the verb verzehren instead. That's what a candle does while it's burning.

Ich verzehre mich nach dir.

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  • Vielen Dank für die Hilfe
    – Chance Evans
    Commented Jun 22 at 21:35
  • @ChanceEvans when you find the answer helpful, then please upvote it. If it is the best answer and answers your question, then also please accept it
    – planetmaker
    Commented Jun 30 at 20:04
  • 3
    Lieben und zurückgeliebt werden wollen gehen zwar fast immer Hand in Hand, sind aber nicht das gleiche. Sich sehnen, Sehnsucht tritt nur bei Trennung vom geliebten Objekt auf und ist nochmal was anderes.
    – user unknown
    Commented Jun 30 at 22:25
  • The question is about wishing that another person had a particular wish? Maybe you'll need a sentence for this, like your heading here. The word "Sehnsucht" does not really fill the gap, it doesn't express any interaction. The object of Sehnsucht need not even be a living being. For example, "Sehnsucht to be in a certain place" (the sea, the south etc) is very common..
    – Alazon
    Commented Jul 1 at 5:17
  • longing addiction is a weird direct translation for Sehnsucht. While Sucht today is usually understood as addiction, it is related to sickness, which would be a better choice. In any case, neither sehnen nor verzehren really fit the requested meaning. Both describe the pain from the separation, not the wish that the desired person does something (here: to love you). I do not think that there is a concise word for this in German (or English for that matter).
    – Chieron
    Commented Jul 2 at 9:30

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