How do you say “my love” in Arabic?
The everyday word is habibi (حبيبي) to a man and habibti (حبيبتي) to a woman. Partners also say hayati (my life), rouhi (my soul) and albi (my heart), which carry more weight because they're used less loosely.
My love
حبيبي
How each dialect says it
Tap to hear it the way people from each place say it.
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PalestinianJerusalem, Nablus, Gaza, Jenin0:01حبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibti
Partners also say “ya rouhi” (my soul) and “hayati” (my life).
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LebaneseBeirut, Tripoli, Saida0:01حبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibti
“Albi” (my heart) and “'omri” (my lifetime) are common between couples.
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EgyptianCairo, Alexandria0:01حبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibti
“Ya 'omri” and “ya albi” are the classic Egyptian endearments.
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GulfKuwait, the Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar0:01حبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibti
“Galbi” (my heart, said with a g) is heard a lot.
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IraqiBaghdad, Basra, Mosul0:01حبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibti
“'Eini” (my eye) and “rohi” (my soul) are Iraqi favourites.
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Formal ArabicTextbooks, news, speechesحبيبيha-BEE-bee texted as 7abibiTo a woman: حبيبتي habibati
Same word, used in poems and letters.
Saying it like you mean it
English has “my love” and a few imports. Arabic has a whole shelf, and people pick from it on purpose. Habibi, from h-b-b, love, is the one everyone uses: a mechanic, a grandmother, a best friend. Because it's everywhere, it rarely makes anyone blush.
The words that do are mostly about the body and life itself. Albi is my heart. Rouhi is my soul. Hayati is my life. 'Omri is my lifetime, all the years I have. Iraqis say 'eini, my eye, the part of you you'd protect first. The Levantine extreme is tuqburni, may you bury me: a wish to die first so you never have to live without the person.
A couple in Ramallah might use habibi at the market and rouhi at home. Parents use the same list on their children, which is why toddlers across the region get called “my life” before breakfast.
In a sentence
How people actually use it, dialect by dialect.
- Palestinianصباح الخير يا روحيsabah il-kheir ya rouhiGood morning, my soul.
- Egyptianوحشتني يا عمريwahashtini ya 'omriI missed you, my life.
- Iraqiشلونك عيني؟shlonak 'eini?How are you, my dear? (literally: my eye)
People also ask
What's the most romantic way to say my love in Arabic?
Habibi and habibti are the everyday choice. Rouhi (my soul), hayati (my life) and tuqburni (may you bury me) are more intense and mostly kept for partners and children.
Is habibi only romantic?
No. Friends, relatives and shopkeepers all say it. Who says it and how decides whether it's romantic.
What do Arabic speakers call their partner?
Habibi or habibti most of all, then hayati, albi, rouhi and 'omri, usually with ya in front: ya albi, ya rouhi.
Related words
Words that tend to come up in the same conversation.
How we checked this page
Checked by two AI models, not yet by a native speaker
Each dialect form above is shown only if it passed an independent check. If we weren't sure how a dialect says it, we left that dialect out rather than guess. The audio is an AI voice tuned to each dialect; we're replacing it with real speakers over time. How we check words.