The short answer: तिमीलाई माया गर्छु (timīlāʼī māyā garchu) is how you say “I love you” in Nepali, when you’re speaking to someone close to you — a partner, a friend, someone younger than you.
But Nepali has more layers to this phrase than English does, and getting it right (formal vs. informal, when to actually say it) matters more than it does in English. Here’s the full picture.
The main phrase: informal “I love you”
| Nepali | Romanized | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| तिमीलाई माया गर्छु | timīlāʼī māyā garchu | I love you |
This uses timī (तिमी), the informal “you,” and māyā garnu (माया गर्नु), literally “to do love.” Māyā (माया) is the Nepali word for love — it covers romantic love but also the deep affection a parent has for a child, so context does some of the work that separate English words would.
The formal version
Nepali verb forms and pronouns change depending on who you’re speaking to — something English doesn’t really have. If you’re speaking to an elder, an in-law, or someone you’d address respectfully, swap timī for tapāʼī́ (तपाईं):
| Nepali | Romanized | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| तपाईंलाई माया गर्छु | tapāʼīnlāʼī māyā garchu | I love you (formal) |
In practice, this formal version is rarely used for romantic declarations — you’d use timī with a partner. It’s more relevant if you’re learning the grammar pattern for other sentences.
“I love you too” and other replies
| Nepali | Romanized | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| म पनि तिमीलाई माया गर्छु | ma pani timīlāʼī māyā garchu | I love you too | |
| मलाई तिम्रो याद आइरहेको छ | malāʼī timro yād āiraheko cha | I miss you | |
| मेरो माया | mero māyā | my love |
A cultural note worth knowing
If you’re learning this phrase to say it to a Nepali partner or friend, it helps to know: Nepali culture is generally more reserved about saying “I love you” out loud than Western culture is. Affection is shown more often through actions — cooking for someone, looking out for their needs, showing up — than through the words themselves, especially between family members. Saying māyā garchu to a partner is completely normal and appreciated; saying it constantly and casually the way some English speakers do is less common, and can even come across as less sincere. When you do say it, it tends to carry more weight.
That also means: don’t be surprised if a Nepali partner shows love more than they say it. It’s not a lack of feeling — it’s a different default.
“I like you” — a step before “I love you”
| Nepali | Romanized | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| मलाई तिमी मन पर्छ | malāʼī timī man parcha | I like you |
Literally “you are pleasing to me” — man parnu (मन पर्नु) is the standard way to say you like someone or something in Nepali. It’s a natural, lower-stakes way to express early romantic interest before working up to māyā garchu.
Practice it
Every phrase above has a working audio button (🔊) so you can hear the pronunciation, not just read a romanization. You can also look these words up any time, plus hundreds more, in the Nepali Dictionary, or drill them with spaced repetition in Flashcards.