愛してる

Etymology
A phrase forming a complete sentence, consisting of +  +. The shite iru contracts in informal speech into shiteru.

Phrase

 * 1)  I'm in love with you, I love you

Usage notes
This literally just means “[someone] loves [someone]”, with the two “someones” (grammatical subject and object) understood from context.

Although common in popular media such as anime or J-pop, this expression is considered very intense in real life and is usually reserved for serious situations such as when making a marriage proposal, or telling a family member while on your death bed that the speaker loves them. A way to express these feelings in a less intense, i.e. romantic, manner would be to use or  which respectively mean to like/to really like someone.

Related terms

 * : love
 * : to do

Descendants

 * Chinese: