# Foreign terms of endearment

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 18, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565 "2003-04-18T15:35:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565/21 "2003-04-20T09:46:42Z")

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Arabic:

Habibi, my love (m)., Habibati (f).

more to the point in regards to the question, terms of endearment in Arabic run to the poetical.

Two of the most common are:  
'Ainiay: My eyes.  
'Oumri: My Life

Etc. Things like my breath, my spirit, my life, my joy are the more usual allusions. Many more and it varies a bit by region/dialect.

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**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565/22 "2003-04-20T10:28:39Z")

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Spanish -

Carino (with the ~ over the n) means _my dear_

Amante = lover (mi amante or amante mio = my lover)

That’s sweet **Collounsbury**. Thanks for the enlightenment 🙂

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565/23 "2003-04-20T10:43:02Z")

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Well, if I were anything of a romantic I could be more helpful, but I tend to get impatient with such things.

I may add:  
'Aziz(at)i : My dear  
Houbbi : My Love  
Hayaati: My Life Alt to 'Oumri, somewhat less strong.

There are others that may come to mind should I decide to abuse my ears with Egypto-pop.

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**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565/24 "2003-04-20T13:58:54Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Joe Mahma \*  
> \*\*So what, exactly, does a Frenchman mean when he says _mon chou_? I’m assuming he doesn’t literally mean “my little Brussel Sprout” but maybe he does.  
> Maybe **Jovan** or **clairobscur** can clear this up for me. \*\*

Well, it’s certainly not “my little Brussel sprout” as that is “chou de Bruxelles” in French.

Chou does indeed mean cabbage, but it means a few other things. Namely, a type of pastry and the kind of round decorative ribbon you stick on christmas presents.

Regardless of the etymology, when I hear “mon chou”, cabbage is not on my mind. I simply take it as a general expression of affection.

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**Author:** ![regnad\_kcin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@regnad\_kcin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/regnad_kcin)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-terms-of-endearment/169565/25 "2003-04-20T14:43:33Z")

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You seem surprised that someone may affectionately call their loved one a vegetable, Joe.

Yet in what I assume to be your native language, it is not uncommon to refer to a loved one as “pumpkin”. 🙂

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