Focus on French Verbs: aimer

The French verb aimer means "to like" or "to love." You can use it to talk about people, things, activities, and preferences.

But aimer does not map neatly onto the English ideas of liking and loving. What it means depends on what you are talking about and on expressions like aimer bien, aimer beaucoup, and aimer mieux.

Conjugation

Aimer is a regular -er verb and follows the standard conjugation pattern for French verbs ending in -er.

See aimer for all tenses and forms.

Common patterns and prepositions

Aimer usually takes a direct noun or infinitive with no preposition. Do not use à or de before an infinitive.

Pronominal form: s'aimer

S'aimer is the pronominal form of aimer. It expresses reciprocal affection between two or more people, or affection directed at oneself.

See s'aimer for all tenses and forms.

The people represented by the subject feel the emotion toward one another — or, with a singular subject, toward themselves. This is different from aimer + noun, where one person likes or loves someone or something else.

Aimer + a noun

Use aimer directly before a noun to say that you like or love a person or thing:

There is no preposition between aimer and its object:

aimer + noun

The English translation depends on context. With things, like is often the most natural translation. With people, aimer can express much stronger affection.

Aimer + an infinitive

You can also use aimer + infinitive to talk about activities you like doing:

Again, there is no preposition between the two verbs:

aimer + infinitive

This is different from French verbs that require à or de before another infinitive.

Does aimer mean "to like" or "to love"?

It can mean either.

When aimer refers to a thing or activity, English like is often the natural translation:

When the object is a person, unmodified aimer can express love, particularly romantic love:

This is why translating aimer mechanically as either like or love can be misleading. The relationship between the speaker and the object matters.

Aimer vs aimer bien

One particularly important expression is aimer bien.

It might look as though adding bien should make aimer stronger. With people, however, aimer bien commonly makes the meaning less intense.

Compare these pairs:

That difference can be important.

With things and activities, the distinction is often less dramatic:

So bien should not simply be understood as an intensifier meaning "very."

Expressing different degrees of liking and loving

Several common expressions modify aimer:

These expressions are useful for expressing degrees of affection or enthusiasm, but they do not form a simple scale in every context. In particular, aimer bien has its own meaning when talking about people.

Aimer mieux

Aimer mieux can express a preference and often corresponds to English "would rather."

This use is no longer simply about liking something. The speaker is expressing a preference between possibilities.

Aimer mieux vs préférer

Aimer mieux and préférer can both express preference:

The constructions overlap considerably, although préférer states preference more directly. When you encounter aimer mieux, don't interpret it literally as simply "to like better."

Aimer que + the subjunctive

Aimer can introduce a clause with que when the thing you like involves another subject:

The verb following aimer que normally appears in the subjunctive:

aimer que + subjunctive

Compare this with aimer + infinitive:

aimer + infinitive

An activity follows directly after the verb:

With the infinitive construction, there is no separate subject for the second verb. With aimer que, the following clause has its own subject.

J'aimerais: saying what you would like

The conditional forms of aimer are extremely common for expressing something that someone would like:

Two especially useful patterns are:

j'aimerais + noun

j'aimerais + infinitive

When another subject is introduced with que, the following verb takes the subjunctive:

j'aimerais que + subjunctive

So although aimer can mean "to love," j'aimerais will very often correspond to English "I would like."

Common expressions with aimer

Some particularly useful expressions built around aimer include:

These are worth learning as constructions rather than translating aimer in isolation each time.

Common mistakes with aimer

Don't add à or de before an infinitive

When aimer is followed directly by another verb, use the infinitive without a preposition:

Use this pattern:

aimer + infinitive

Do not use aimer à + infinitive or aimer de + infinitive.

Don't assume aimer bien is stronger than aimer

With a person, these two sentences do not normally express the same degree or kind of affection:

Adding bien can make the statement less intense rather than more intense.

Don't translate aimer mechanically as "love"

English uses love very freely for foods, activities, places, and experiences. French also uses aimer broadly, but the best English translation depends on context:

The same verb in Je t'aime means "I love you."

Related verbs

These neighboring verbs help you choose the right word when aimer is not quite what you mean:

Adorer* works well when enthusiasm runs high: *J'adore ce restaurant.

Préférer* states a choice directly: *Je préfère le thé.

Plaire reverses the grammar of aimer. Compare J'aime ce livre with Ce livre me plaît. Both can mean "I like this book," but the subject changes.

From learning to practice

In casual conversation, people trade likes and dislikes early — at a café, with a roommate, or when choosing a film. Listen for whether someone says J'aime or J'aime bien before you echo Moi aussi or answer with Je préfère…. When enthusiasm is genuine, J'adore often replaces aimer for food, music, or a place; the tone tells you how strong the feeling is.