The Irish language has some of the most beautiful ways in any native tongue of proclaiming ‘I love you’ and whether you want to share that sentiment with a child, husband, wife, partner or friend, here are some beautiful phrases to declare your love and affection in Gaelic.

From expressing love and affection in a romantic way or declaring love of a family or friend, these Irish phrases for those closest to your heart are guaranteed to have huge impact!

In Celtic and Irish jewelry, having some of these terms of endearment engraved into a ring, bracelet or necklace such as in the Eternal Promise Collection, is another way of expressing how you feel.

'A chara' means friend and can be used in everything from greetings in formal written letters to greeting cards. It can be used to address men, women or children.

It’s similar to 'Mo Anam Cara' which means one of the most beautiful sentiments 'My Soul Mate' and is a deep way of describing a true partner in life.

'A stór' is a lovely warm way of addressing someone and means 'my treasure.'  It’s often used by parents as a term of affection when speaking to their children.

The most romantic endearment in the Irish language is probably 'A ghrá' which simply means love.

'A chroí' means 'heart', 'A mhuirnín' means darling and 'A chuisle' means pulse and they are often put into sentences and regularly seen in Irish poetry and songs.

'A rúnsearc' means “secret love” and is a very passionate way of saying 'beloved.' It’s one of the lesser used words and not heard as often as other terms of endearment.

'Mo shíorghrá' means 'My Eternal Love' and is a more modern translation of the concept of soul mates.

'M’fhíorghrá' is a way of describing 'My True Love' as 'fíor' translates as truth in the Irish language.

'Is ceol mo chroí thú' means 'you're the music of my heart' which is a beautifully lyrical phrase.

The Irish language can beautifully convey romantic phrases and 'Gra Geal Mo Chroi' translates as 'Love of my Heart'.

It’s not surprising that Irish is one of the oldest surviving languages still in use today as these words and phrases are the perfect way to celebrate affection and romance and the language of love will never go out of date!