Sweetie pie. Honey. Babydoll. Pumpkin. What could be more normal, more unremarkable than the common endearments English-speaking Americans use to address their romantic counterparts? That is, they seem relatively normal, since we're so used to them. But shift the lens a bit, and suddenly they're positively bizarre. What _is_ a sweetie pie? Why would you address your beloved as a bulbous orange squash? (And that's not even getting into the idiosyncratic pet names that many people bestow upon their partners: A -- um -- friend of mine sometimes calls her fiancé "sweatpants boy.") It's not typical, in American English, to refer to your bae as "fatty," or "crumb of gold," but in Spanish and Finnish, respectively, it wouldn't be out of the normal to do just that. These romantic idioms from other languages can sound ridiculous when translated literally, but that's part of the fun -- just like "sweet cheeks" or "love muffin," their actual meaning has little to do with the exact denotations of the words. Why do we so often call our loves "my cabbage" (French) or "little fish" (Russian) instead of simply their given names, or even the more literal honorifics like "wife," "boyfriend," or "beloved"? Last year, several sex and relationships experts spoke to Bustle about the pet-name phenomenon, which tends to spring up in the context of a whole universe of "relationship speak" -- shorthands and phrases reminiscent of baby talk exclusively used between a couple. Using silly names for each other, experts theorize, signals that a couple feels safe and cared for in each other's company, able to become vulnerable and show their inner childlike side. Even less ridiculous pet names, like the more established "sweetie" or "babe," connote a special level of intimacy; everyone else uses a person's given name, but only their partner would be allowed to refer to them as "babe." These warm and snuggly forces may be at work reinforcing relationships, too; one often-cited study from 1993 found that married couples who used pet names more reported higher satisfaction with their marriages. Carol J. Bruess, who led the original study, told Scientific American last year that she believed these silly names and other relationship speak allowed couples to keep the dynamic in their marriages sweet and fun, potentially alleviating tense situations when they crop up. Most couples, including those that don't last, have their own idiosyncratic pet names that no one else would understand, so trying to catalog all the ways humans have come up with to say "my darling" would be a futile task. Looking at the more common ways people express their affection in different languages from around the world, however, is a beautiful reminder of the joyfully playful nature of romance, even for the most grown-up adults out there. We asked our editorial staff from around the world to share their favorite terms of endearment, and we were buried beneath a wave of devastatingly cute pet names. Here's a selected list to inspire you this Valentine's Day, because your sweetheart deserves to hear what a duckling/sparrow/cauliflower they are, V-Day and every day: SPANISH: GORDO/GORDA/GORDI/GORDITA _Translation:_ Fatty; a term of endearment for people of all shapes "TE QUIERO COMO LA TRUCHA AL TRUCHO." _Translation:_ "I love you like the girl trout loves the boy trout." MI CIELO _Translation:_ My heaven, sky AMIGOVIO _Translation_: Friend with benefits TAGALOG: INDAY _Translation:_ Sweetheart (usually for a young woman) ARABIC (EGYPT): نور عيني NOOR EINY _Translation:_ Light of my eyes حياة قلبي HAYAT ALBY _Translation:_ My heart’s life ARABIC (MAGHREB): روح قلبي ROUH QALBI _Translation:_ Soul of my heart عينيّا AYNAYA _Translation: _My eyes نوّارة عينيّا NAWARET AYNAYA _Translation: _Flower of my eyes خنفوستي - خنفوسي KHANFOUSSTI / KHANFOUSSI _Translation: _My little bug فلّوستي - فلّوسي FALLOUSSTI / FALLOUSSI _Translation: _My little chicken FRENCH: MA PUCE _Translation:_ My flea/louse MON CHOU _Translation:_ My cabbage MON PETIT CHOU FLEUR _Translation:_ My little cauliflower HAWAIIAN: KU'U IPO _Translation:_ My sweetheart/my lover KOREAN: 강아지 GANG-A-JI _Translation:_ Puppy HEBREW: NESHAMA _Translation:_ Soul, used the same way as "honey" KAPARA _Translation:_ Atonement, used in the same way as "babe" CHINESE: 亲爱的 QIN AI DE _Translation:_ Dear WELSH: CARIAD _Translation:_ Love TWI: MEDOFO _Translation:_ In Ghana, this means "my love" JAPANESE: あなた ANATA _Translation:_ My love ITALIAN: TI VOGLIO TANTO BENE _Translation:_ "I want you a lot and well"; basically, “I love you very much.” (It's often used as an acronym, TVTB, at the end of a letter, or a text, between friends.) POLPETTO _Translation:_ Meatball, usually for men. ORSETTO/ORSETTA _Translation:_ Little bear GATTINO/GATTINA _Translation:_ My kitten PULCINO _Translation:_ Little chicken SAMOAN: PELE _Translation:_ Sweetheart FATU _Translation:_ Heart GERMAN: SPATZ/SPATZI _Translation:_ Sparrow BÄR/BÄRCHEN _Translation:_ Bear MAUS/MAUSI _Translation:_ Mouse HASE/HASI _Translation:_ Bunny SCHATZ/SCHATZI _Translation:_ Treasure KRÜMEL _Translation:_ Crumb AMHARIC: YENE FIKIR _Translation:_ My love (Bonus: It's used in a lyric in "The Hills" by The Weeknd, who's also Ethiopian.) YENE KONJO _Translation:_ My beauty/my sweetheart (used for women) FINNISH: KULLANMURU _Translation:_ Crumb of gold; basically means darling or sweetie FARSI: JOON _Translation:_ Used after a person's name, to mean "dear;" used between friends and significant others MALAYALAM: CHAKKARA _Translation:_ Sugar (specifically, jaggery) KARALE _Translation:_ Liver, because it is seen as more connected to love than the heart _(Fun fact: _There's a cute song about it!) TAMIL: KANNA _Translation:_ Literally means “eye” but is used like “dear” HINDU: JAAN/JAANU _Translation:_ Jaan means “my life”; “jaanu” is basically the equivalent of "honey" SHONA _Translation:_ Gold/golden in both Hindi and Bengali BABU _Translation:_ "Little master" in Hindi; modified from "baba," an affectionate term for children. GREEK: ΜΑΝΑΡΑΚΙ (MANARAKI ) _Translation:_ Small lamb that is being fed and prepared for slaughter ΜΆΤΙΑ (MATIA) _Translation_: Eyes ΖΟΥΖΟΥΝΙ (ZUZUNI) _Translation:_ Bug ΠΑΠΑΚΙ (PAPAKI) _Translation:_ Duckling AΣΤΕΡΙ (ASTERI) _Translation:_ Star ΦΕΓΓΆΡΙ ΜΟΥ (FEGGARI MOU) _Translation:_ My moon PORTUGUESE: GATINHO/GATINHA _Translation:_ Kitten PRINCESA/PRÍNCIPE _Translation:_ Princess/Prince FOFO/FOFA _Translation:_ Cute RUSSIAN ЛИСИЧКА (LISICHKA) _Translation:_ Little fox ЯГОДКА (YAGODKA) _Translation:_ Berry СОЛНЫШКО (SOLNISHKO) _Translation:_ Sunshine РЫБKА (RYBKA) _Translation:_ Little fish ARMENIAN: HOKIS _Translation:_ My soul, or love of my soul. Reserved for very close relationships. "TSAVD TANEM" _Translation:_ "Let me take away your pain"; an exclamation of care toward another person that is often just thrown into conversation "JIGARET UDEM" _Translation:_ "I will eat your liver" -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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