Every year, around Valentine’s Day, the same phrase gets questioned again.

“I love you.”

People call it overused. Too common. Too easy. They say it has lost its meaning because it has been said too many times, printed on too many cards, typed too quickly in messages, whispered without thought.

And maybe they’re right about one thing: it is everywhere.

But I don’t think that makes it empty.

I think it makes it human.

We live in a time where we are constantly pushed to be original. To find new ways to say old things. To impress. To stand out. Even love is expected to be creative now—wrapped in metaphors, hidden in gestures, proven through effort.

And yet, when everything is stripped away, when the moment is honest and unguarded, most of us still reach for the same three words.

Not because we lack imagination—but because those words still do the job.

“I love you” isn’t meant to be clever.
It isn’t meant to be impressive.
It isn’t meant to be new.

It’s meant to be clear.

For a long time, I thought love needed better packaging. That real feeling should be shown through actions only, or explained in longer sentences, or softened so it wouldn’t sound obvious. I believed that saying “I love you” was too simple for something so big.

But love doesn’t need decoration.
It needs honesty.

The problem isn’t that the phrase is a cliché. The problem is when the words are said without presence. Without meaning. Without the weight of what stands behind them.

A phrase doesn’t lose its value because it’s repeated.
It loses value when it’s disconnected from action.

When “I love you” is said after listening.
After choosing patience instead of ego.
After staying when it would be easier to walk away.
After showing up again, quietly, without applause.

Then it’s not a cliché.

It’s a summary.

Those words are not meant to carry love alone. They are meant to collect it. They gather all the small moments that don’t get named—the waiting, the forgiving, the noticing, the care that doesn’t announce itself.

We say “I love you” because there is no better shortcut for everything we cannot list.

Yes, love can be shown in a thousand ways. In making coffee. In checking if someone arrived safely. In silence that feels safe instead of heavy. In choosing kindness when irritation would be easier.

But none of that makes the words unnecessary.

It makes them earned.

Sometimes we avoid saying “I love you” because we’re afraid it sounds weak. Or ordinary. Or because we’ve been taught that deep feelings should be shown, not spoken.

But words matter.

Not because they replace actions—but because they name them.

“I love you” is not a performance. It’s not a promise of perfection. It’s not a dramatic moment from a movie scene.

It’s a decision to be clear.

And clarity, especially in relationships, is never a cliché.

The truth is, there is no better way to say it.

We can dress love in poetry.
We can hide it in habits.
We can prove it through consistency.

But when it comes time to speak—when the moment asks for truth instead of creativity—we still return to the same simple sentence.

Because despite everything,
despite how often it’s been said,
despite how ordinary it may sound,

“I love you” remains the most honest way we know.

And maybe that’s not a failure of language.

Maybe it’s proof that some things don’t need improvement—only sincerity.

GK

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Published by georgi.kisyov

30 thoughts on “The “I Love You” Cliché”

  1. Hi Georgi,
    yes, it’s true, everyone wants to feel and hear that they are loved. It has to be a combination of both.
    These three words can mean the world, and it’s important that we say them to each other honestly.
    I think some people mistake these words for weakness, and that’s very sad.
    💝 Best wishes
    Sandrine

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    1. Thank you, Sandrine 🤍
      You’re so right—it’s not either words or actions, but the meeting of both. When they come together, those three words don’t weaken us at all… they steady us.
      It’s sad when honesty is mistaken for fragility, because saying “I love you” with meaning is actually a quiet strength.
      I really appreciate your thoughtful words. 💝
      GK

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  5. “We live in a time where we are constantly pushed to be original. To find new ways to say old things. To impress. To stand out. Even love is expected to be creative now—wrapped in metaphors, hidden in gestures, proven through effort.” – The “I Love You” Cliché –

    I have never felt ‘the push’ to be original. I’ve only ever been, and will always be, my complete authentic self.

    When a person is genuine, every spoken ‘I love you’ is naturally authentic, and deeply sincere.

    True unconditional love starts with self. And when the love of one’s own authentic self is truly realized and wholly unconditional, the spoken sentiment will always come from the heart, and be honest and literal too.

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    1. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
      I agree that authenticity is at the heart of love, and when someone lives from that place, their “I love you” will always be sincere.
      What I was pointing to in that passage is more the cultural noise many of us move through—expectations, comparisons, and performances that can make simple truth feel insufficient. Not everyone experiences that push in the same way, and that’s okay.
      I appreciate you adding this layer to the conversation.
      Have a wonderful new week.
      GK

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      1. What I was pointing to in that passage is more the cultural noise many of us move through—expectations, comparisons, and performances that can make simple truth feel insufficient. – – – – The “I Love You” Cliché – – – –

        When love of self is authentic, unconditional and complete, all of that noise dwindles down to complete silence. Simple truth should never feel insufficient; simple truth is truth.

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      2. I agree that simple truth is truth.
        At the same time, many people are still learning how to reach that place of unconditional self-love, and while they do, the noise can feel very real. My intention was to speak to that in-between space—where sincerity exists, but confidence in its simplicity is still growing.
        I appreciate the depth you bring to this reflection.
        GK

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  7. . . . where sincerity exists, but confidence in its simplicity is still growing. (The “I Love You” Cliché )

    I’m sorry, but this just doesn’t make much sense to me. Where sincerity exists, confidence in its simplicity is unnecessary.

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  9. Consider this:

    James 2:18 KJV:

    Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

    Now replace faith with love…

    James 2:18 KJV

    Yea, a man may say, Thou hast love, and I have works: shew me thy love without thy works, and I will shew thee my love by my works.

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    1. That’s a powerful way to frame it.
      Love, like faith, becomes visible through what we do. Words give it voice, but actions give it form. When both walk together, the meaning is complete.
      Thank you for sharing this reflection—it fits the conversation beautifully.
      GK

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      1. Your welcome…

        The Apostle Paul wrote about this as well in 1 Corinthians 13. In the KJV version the Translator’s used the English Word “Charity” when they translated the Greek Word for love into English…

        Jesus also said:

        “That no man has greater love than one who lays down his life for his friends.”

        And

        The second greatest commandment is:

        “Love thy neighbor as thyself

        Which is the “Spirit of the law.”

        And is today’s Golden Rule:

        “Do unto others as you would want then to do unto you.”

        This is the reason the Apostle Paul wrote:

        Romans 2:14-16 KJV

        “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

        Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;

        In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

        ———-

        These are those who did not have the Letter of the Law yet were open to the Holy Spirit’s work on their heart, and, kept the Spirit of the Law which is written on their heart – what we today call unselfish and unconditional love.

        “Love thy Neighbor as Thyself.”

        And today’s equivalent

        Is a moral anchor that anybody can use to keep themselves morally grounded.

        On the other hand those who believe that one cannot love someone else until they love themselves first.

        Will never ever love anybody else simply because “Self Love” doesn’t leave any room in the heart to love anybody else.

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  10. I’ve known those who are under the impression that actions are enough—that if love is real, it’s obvious without being spoken. I find that ideal very challenging. I’ve always believed “I love you” wasn’t meant to explain love, but to gather it, just as you speak of here. Those words carry the weight of so many things… the choosing to listen when I’m tired, the staying when retreat would be easier, the small acts of care that never make it into a story. When I say those words, they’re more like shorthand for everything I simply can’t put into sentences. Your post made me think about how clarity can feel vulnerable. Saying “I love you” leaves no room to hide behind tone or implication. It’s exposed. And maybe that’s why it can feel risky or uncomfortable. But you’re right, clarity isn’t shallow. It’s brave. Your reflection reminds me that sincerity doesn’t need to be dressed up to be deep, and that sometimes the simplest words are the ones that ask the most of us.

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    1. This is beautifully said.
      I really love how you described those words as shorthand for everything that can’t be fully listed—that’s exactly it. They gather the unseen effort, the quiet staying, the daily choosing.
      And yes… clarity can feel vulnerable. It leaves no space to hide, no room for interpretation. It’s simple, and that simplicity asks courage from us.
      Thank you for adding such depth to this conversation. Your reflection truly means a lot.
      GK

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    1. Thank you so much. I believe love is shown in what we do—and that’s what gives the words their weight.
      When actions and words walk together, love feels complete. I appreciate you being part of this conversation.
      GK

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    1. I love that 😊. You’re right—the meaning always lives between the one who speaks it and the one who receives it.
      When it’s said with intention and heard with an open heart, those three words never lose their depth.
      Thank you for sharing this.
      GK

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