How to say I miss you in French

Translating this expression from English to French can be a little tricky, and demands some thinking at first, before it becomes automatic!

The tricky part is that the subject and the object of the action are inverted: As mentioned above "I miss you" is tu me manques in French. Literally this translates as "You are missing from me"

Resources for further reading:

The top ten French hacks

How to improve your pronunciation of French words

In the same way, if you want to ask a woman or a man if she or he missed you, you will say: "Je t'ai manqué ?". Literally "I am missed from you?"

This can be confusing, because in French, the person missed is the subject of the sentence, whereas in English, the person missed is the object.

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your French pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!

Tu me manques

I miss you

Je t'ai manqué ?

You missed me ? / Did you miss me?

Elle me manque

I miss her

Il me manque

I miss him

"Tu me manques" is a very common romantic phrase, and will typically be followed by expressions such as:

Reviens vite !

Come back soon!

J'ai hâte de te revoir !

I can't wait to see you again!

…before the famous expression that is the highlight of every romantic exchange:

Je t'aime

I love you

You will often come across "tu me manques" in letters or postcards, usually near the end. To conclude a letter to a close friend or a relative, you can use:

Je t'embrasse

I kiss you (in a romantic relationship)

Bises

Kisses (only in a non romantic relationship)

Grosses bises

Big kisses, (only in a non romantic relationship)

Bisous

Kisses

Gros bisous

Big kisses

That’s it for today’s lesson. I hope you enjoyed it, and that these new words and expressions will be useful to better your pronunciation and to actually communicate with French speaking people. If you want to learn more French phrases then have a look at these other popular lessons:

À bientôt !

Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team

Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement

Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities! These activities are scientifically designed to improve your knowledge and retention of French.