With Valentine’s Day fast approaching language experts are giving loved up Brits some cute nicknames to use from some of the world’s most romantic languages.
The language team at Busuu have put together a list of some cute nicknames for your significant other this Valentine’s Day
Languages featured on their cute nicknames list include Spanish, Italian and French, which are ‘Romance languages’ – a branch of Indo-European languages that trace their roots to Latin.
And contrary to the name, these actually have nothing to do with romance!
Busuu are encouraging couples to impress one another with some of these quirky nicknames that translate into phrases like ‘my half an orange’ and ‘my little pie’ and ‘my cabbage’.
A spokesperson from Busuu said: “These languages are known for sounding beautiful and romantic – so what better time of year to incorporate some of these terms of endearment into your vocabulary than on Valentine’s Day?
“Although the origins of Romance languages don’t actually have anything to do with love, these languages are still seen as some of the most romantic.
“The emotive sounds, flow and ease of these languages are what makes them swoon-worthy. Many say languages with harsher pronunciation like German and Russian have the same effect.”
Busuu’s cute nicknames from around the world:
French nicknames
French is known for having some of the best nicknames for significant others that sound super romantic.
L’amour de ma vie – The love of my life
Mon ange – My angel
Mon cœur – My heart
Mon chou – My cabbage
Doudou – Sweetie/darling (no literal translation)
Spanish nicknames
Nicknames in Spanish often include the prefix ‘little’, the perfect term for endearment.
Amorcito – My little love
Cariño – Darling
Mi corazón – My heart
Pastelito – Little pastry/pie/muffin, used like ‘sweetie’
Mi media naranja – My half an orange (like my other half!)
Mi rey (for men) / Mi reina (for women) – My king/my queen
Italian nicknames
Italians have so many creative phrases for nicknames, here are some of our favourite
Amore (mio) – (My) love
Carino, carina – Cute
Dolce metà – Sweet half
Orsacchiotto, orsacchiotta – Big fluffy teddy bear
Piccolo (for men) / Piccola (for women) – Little one
Tesoro, tesorino – Treasure, little treasure
