How To Say I Miss You in French

From LoveToKnow French

Wondering how to say "I miss you" in French? The phrase is a tricky one because it doesn't follow the same pattern in French as it does in English.

How to Say I Miss You in French

Saying "I miss you" in French is opposite of how you would say it in English. In English, the subject of the sentence misses the object. In French, it is the object of the sentence that is missing to the subject. Therefore, how to say "I miss you" in French is, Tu me manques which if translated literally would say, "You are missing to me. . ." Of course that is very awkward in English and so one would say 'I miss you'.

The Verb Manquer

The verb manquer in French means to lack or miss. It is used in many situations to mean a variety of things along those lines.

"Manquer" Plus a Direct Object

When you add a direct object to the end of the verb manquer, you are saying that you missed something like a bus, a date, a meeting, etc. This is perhaps one of the most simple constructions using the verb manquer because it most imitates the English translation. You (the subject), misses the object. For example,

J'ai manqué le rendez-vous hier, parce que j'étais malade. (I missed the meeting yesterday because I was sick.)

Vous avez manqué l'autobus. Prenez le prochain. (You missed the bus. Take the next one.)

A good way to think about the manquer + direct object construction is that you are talking about something concrete and tangible that you missed. Again, you cannot use this construction to say that you missed a person.

"Manquer de" Plus a Verb

When you add an infinitive verb after manquer de it means that you didn't do something. . .or more literally that you failed to do something. A few examples might be:

Elle a manqué de faire le ménage. She failed to do her chores (the housework).
J'ai manqué de te téléphoner parce que j'ai oublié. I didn't call you. I forgot.
Ne manque pas de nous visiter. Make sure to come visit us. (Literally, "don't fail to visit us.")

"Manquer de" Plus a Direct Object

Manquer de plus a direct object means that something is lacking or that something is needed. For example:

Ce café manque de sucre. This coffee needs sugar. . .or literally this coffee lacks sugar.

Tu manques d'intelligence! You lack intelligence!

Remember, you can also use the expression, avoir besoin de to mean "to need" in some contexts. In general, the difference between the two expressions is negotiable, although you will find that manquer is used when the general sense is that something is lacking (like your coffee needs sugar or milk.) However, even if you don't use le mot juste, people will understand what you mean.

Manquer à

Remember, the verb manquer literally means "to lack", therefore, the subject of the sentence is the person or thing that is lacking. In English it is exactly the opposite, so if you can remember that it is the opposite, you'll be well on your way to learning how to say "I miss you" in French. Here are a few examples:

Tu me manques. I miss you.
Elle nous manque. We miss her.

Technically it would also be correct to say something like, Tu manques à moi. However, this is never said. Instead the French favor combining the preposition with the direct object and using the pronoun instead.