Love is an incredible feeling, and countless works or art have been created about it. Naturally, there are a lot of wise sayings about love, and we hope the vocabulary this post is about will inspire you and teach you some English as well. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! 💕

ENGLISH SAYINGS ABOUT LOVE

1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Meaning: your affection for those close to you increases when you are parted form them (≠ out of sight, out of mind). Fond means loving and warm: 1) He’s a fond father. 2) She gave him a fond smile. 3) Thank you for the fond embrace. We use the verb grow (especially in literary language) for saying that someone or something gradually starts to have a feeling or quality: 1) The nights were growing colder and darker. 2) She is growing impatient. 3) I’m afraid the boy is growing restless. 
2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Meaning: the perception of beauty is subjective, and not everybody finds the same people or things attractive. To behold is to see (literary language): 1) The team’s performance was a joy to behold. 2) She would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold. 3) Gentlemen, behold the future of exploring.
3. Opposites attract. Meaning: people who have nothing in common are often drawn together because they have qualities that complement each other.
4. Love is blind, friendship closes its eyes. Meaning: lovers don’t notice each other’s faults, whereas friends notice but disregard them.
5. Love conquers all. Meaning: love can overcome any obstacle or opposition. To conquer /ˈkɒŋkə(r)/ is to win a victory (literary language) or to gain control of a situation or emotion: 1) We must conquer our fear. 2) I hope he will be able to conquer his addiction. 3) She has conquered the disease.
6. Love laughs at locksmiths. Meaning: nothing and nobody can keep lovers apart (≈ love will find a way ≈ love is free). A locksmith is someone whose job is to fix locks on doors and windows and to open doors for people who have lost their keys: 1) They say it’s hard to find a really good locksmith. 2) You can trust this locksmith. He has years of experience in the business. 3) Locksmiths are professionals that install, repair, and modify locks for clients. It may be the right career for you if you enjoy working with your hands, engaging in creative problem solving, and are fascinated by security technology.
7. Love and a cough cannot be hid / love and smoke cannot be hidden. Meaning: it is impossible to conceal the fact that you are in love with somebody.
8. Love begets love. Meaning: the best way to win someone’s affection is to treat him or her in a loving manner. To beget (formal language) is to cause something to happen or be created: 1) Violence can only beget bitterness and resentment. 2) Ambiguous phrases often beget funny interpretations. 3) War can beget only misery and anarchy.
9. Love me, love my dog. Meaning: if you love somebody, you must be prepared to accept or tolerate everything and everybody connected with that person.
10. All’s fair in love and war. Meaning: any action, however mean or unscrupulous, is permissible in certain situations. The saying is often used to justify cheating or deception.
11. Love makes the world go round. Meaning: love gives motivation and meaning to all human activity.
12. One cannot love and be wise. Meaning: people often show a lack of common sense or good judgement when they are in love.

WORLD SAYINGS ABOUT LOVE

1. Coffee and love taste best when hot (Ethiopian proverb)
2. Nothing is impossible for a willing heart (French proverb). Willing is used to describe someone who does something enthusiastically and because they want to do it rather than because they are forced to do it: 1) He is such a willing helper. 2) Although he had had no formal training, he was a natural and willing worker. 3) We have many willing volunteers.
3. Where there is love, there is no darkness (Burundian proverb).
4. Try to reason about love and you will lose your reason (French proverb). To reason about something (formal language) is to make a particular judgment after you have thought about the facts of a situation in an intelligent and sensible way: 1) We reasoned that they this would happen. 2) I reasoned that changing my diet would lower my cholesterol level. 3) I can’t reason about this because I’m not competent enough. Reason can mean the human ability to think in an intelligent way, make sensible decisions, and form clear arguments: 1) His assessment of the situation is based on sheer emotion, not reason. 2) We see a conflict between emotion and reason. 3) Mike is my voice of reason. He thinks logically and points out where I’m going wrong.
5. A life without love is like a year without summer (Lithuanian proverb)
6. The heart that loves is always young (Greek proverb)
7. Where love reigns, the impossible may be attained (Indian proverb). To reign /reɪn/ is to be the main feeling or quality in a situation: 1) This chaos cannot reign. 2) I wish love would reign on earth. 3) Justice must reign in our country. To attain (formal language) something is to achieve something, especially after a lot of work: 1) Not all athletes attain this standard of physical fitness. 2) Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot’s license. 3) We hope we can attain more concrete results.
8. Love has be be shown by deeds, not words (Swahili proverb). A deed (literary language) is something that someone does: 1) I judge a person by their deeds, not their words. 2) When you do a good deed, you are, of course, helping someone. 3) He is responsible for many bad deeds.
9. Love cannot be compelled (Russian proverb). To compel is to bring about (something) by the use of force or pressure. To compel someone to do something is to force someone to do something: 1) He felt compelled to resign from his job. 2) Illness compelled him to stay in bed. 3) Her good attitude can’t be compelled. (≈ You can’t force her to have a good attitude.)
10. When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow (Ethiopian proverb)
11. Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies (Portuguese proverb). The things that something is composed of are its parts or members (formal language): 1) The committee was composed of elected leaders and citizens. 2) The force would be composed of troops from NATO countries. 3) Mortar is composed of lime, sand, and water. To inhabit is to live somewhere: 1) The area is inhabited by artists and writers. 2) The valley is inhabited by the Dani tribe. 3) The islands are inhabited by 177,000 people.
12. Love is blind, but not the neighbors (Mexican proverb)

Do you know any other sayings about love? Are there any famous ones in your language? Please share them with us. 😉

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