ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ

I love you in Punjabi is ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main tainu pyaar karda haan). Punjabi marks the speaker's gender in the verb, so a woman says ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ (kardi haan) where a man says ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (karda haan). This page breaks the sentence down, gives the respectful form for elders and poetry, and adds the softer ways Punjabis declare affection in family life.

The phrase, part by part

ਮੈਂ (main) - I

ਤੈਨੂੰ (tainu) - to you, the intimate form, for a partner or someone close

ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ (tuhaanu) - to you, the respectful form, for elders and in poetry

ਪਿਆਰ (pyaar) - love, deep affection

ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (karda haan) - I do, said by a man

ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ (kardi haan) - I do, said by a woman

When to use it

The sentence is built on ਪਿਆਰ (pyaar), love, the gentlest of the Punjabi feeling words; its full page is on the feelings list. Use ਤੈਨੂੰ (tainu) with a partner or spouse. With ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ (tuhaanu) the same sentence turns respectful, and that is the form you will meet in songs and poems addressed to God, a teacher or a parent.

Within families, love is often said sideways in Punjab: ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਪਸੰਦ ਹੋ (mainu tussi bahut pasand ho), I like you very much, or through care itself, food made, feet pressed, a door waited at. But the direct sentence is fully understood and increasingly said, and a learner who says it correctly, with the right verb for their own gender, will be understood exactly as intended.

What people say back

ਮੈਂ ਵੀ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main vi tainu pyaar karda haan) - I love you too, from a man

ਮੈਂ ਵੀ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ (main vi tainu pyaar kardi haan) - I love you too, from a woman

ਮੈਂ ਵੀ (main vi) - me too, the short and smiling reply

How do you say I love you in Punjabi?

I love you in Punjabi is ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main tainu pyaar karda haan) from a man, and ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ (kardi haan) from a woman.

Why does the Punjabi sentence change for men and women?

Punjabi verbs agree with the speaker's gender in this construction: ਕਰਦਾ (karda) is masculine and ਕਰਦੀ (kardi) is feminine. The rest of the sentence stays the same.

How do you say I love you respectfully in Punjabi?

Replace ਤੈਨੂੰ (tainu) with ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ (tuhaanu): ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main tuhaanu pyaar karda haan). This is the form for elders, teachers and poetry.