Are you in the market for some shiny new European languages to learn? Do you want to know how to say I love you in more languages than just your own? Well do we have the map for you! The genius users of Reddit have plotted out how to say “love” in every country across Europe.
Reddit user (and we assume language expert) L9Perri pulled together a list of the word for “love” in every country throughout Europe, before adding it to a map and exploring the origins of the word in each language to show how it spread across the continent.
Check out a big image of the map here.
For example the root for each country’s word could be Slavic, Latin, Norse (hellooooo Vikings) or Greek. The English word that we use, love, is Proto-Indo-European as a root and is pretty common since any English speaking country in Europe uses it. However the Latin variety of ‘amor’ (love) is also widespread thanks to it being the basis for romantic languages like French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
If you’re finding the map confusing because you can’t pronounce half the words, just look for the colours. They show the common root for the word, meaning anything that appears in one colour is rare. But also awesome, as you will see for the Romanian word for love, dragoste. That’s pretty bad ass and reminds us of Game of Thrones which is also a win. Anywho, pick your next destination and check out the word so you’re ready to whisper sweet nothings.
