It’s an exciting stage when you’re in love with someone and at the cusp of fessing up your feelings — even more so when the feelings are mutual. You may both be carefully circling around saying something of the sort, and every risky text you send probably has you anxiously waiting when you see them typing a response. At the heart of every flirt or every cute remark is the intent of letting the other person know how you feel about them. When you say “I love you” in different ways, you’re letting them know it’s coming from a place of adoration, and not lust. Let’s take a look at what you can say.
Secret Ways To Say “I Love You” In Text: 21 Examples
First things first, saying “I love you” in a hidden way might just fly over this person’s head, especially if your text is a little too cryptic. You can’t just expect to say something like, “We both LOVE pizza! I wonder what else we love…” and have them understand what you’re saying. They’re just going to think you really like pizza. With that said, sometimes you do need to subtly let the person know what you’re feeling, without coming on too strong. Let’s take a look at creative ways to say “I love you,” so you don’t end up hoping some hieroglyphics on your Instagram story will get the job done.
1. Send those emojis
How a person uses emojis is highly subjective. The emojis guys send when they’re in love are different from the ones girls incline towards, and every person has a different favorite emoji. If you’re someone who can’t use an emoji to save your life, maybe refrain from this one. But if you’re someone who usually sends a bunch of hearts and emojis with almost every text, go ahead and knock yourself out. A red heart, the one with heart-shaped eyes, or even the ones that are blushing, can hint at a lot more than you think.
2. A few reaction GIFs never hurt anybody
Want to say “I love you” in a hidden way? Go ahead and send a GIF of Michael Scott Hugging Jim after they say something nice. And if you’re feeling extra brave, maybe text them something like, “Wish you were Jim and I was Michael Scott.” Who doesn’t love a bit of Office romance?
3. Secret ways to say “I love you” in texts: Memes to the rescue
If you’ve never used memes to flirt before, you’re missing out. One of the most effective secret ways to say “I love you” in texts without ever even saying it is by simply sending a meme. So the next time you’re scrolling through your Instagram discover page, take a screenshot of one that you like and send it across. At the very least, you might make them laugh.
4. Flaunt your Spotify playlists
Okay, you don’t necessarily have to send an entire playlist, but sending music recommendations can be a secret way to say “I love you” in texts. Maybe don’t outrightly send “I love you” by Billie Eilish, try to test the water with a bit of John Mayer first.
5. Send your favorite song lyrics
If the music recommendations don’t really work and you know they’ve never checked the song out, you can always get a bit more courageous and send across your favorite song quote. Bonus points if you send a vague one and they ask you what it means. Texting a girl to start a conversation can be as easy as sending a nice song!
6. Send a video with a cryptic message
Figuring out how to secretly text “I love you”? Sometimes you don’t even have to type anything, just send across a video. The possibilities are endless, send a semi-vlog-ish one, or flaunt your talent and send one of you playing a musical instrument. Add in a line or two about how you wish you were with them, and you’re bound to get a cute reply in return.
7. Let Rumi do the talking
When you’re firing blanks while thinking of secret ways to say “I love you” in texts, you can always use the help of legendary poets. If you have a favorite poem with themes of love, send it across. If they’re not someone who reads poetry all too often, however, this tactic might just make them think you’re a hopeless romantic.
8. Joke about it
“I tend to wear a lot of colors when I’m feeling sort of in love. On a completely unrelated topic, check out these glittered-up red & pink pants I just bought!” Okay, maybe you can come up with more humorous texts to say “I love you” in different ways, but you get the point.
9. Send cute pictures of yourself
If a guy is interested in you and likes to talk to you, sending him cute pictures of you is definitely going to get his attention. Take it one step further and caption it with something cute. Creative ways to say “I love you” don’t entirely depend on what you write down, use that beautiful face God gave ya!
10. Send a few words of appreciation
Appreciating their presence in your life may not necessarily scream out “I love you,” but it’s still a nice gesture. Tell them how much you value their input or just appreciate their recent success and tell them you only wish the best for them. And that you’d love to see how their life shapes out, very, very closely.
11. Be a little mysterious with it
If you’re looking for secret ways to say “I love you” in text symbols, maybe you can be a little more cryptic with it. Send across a few zodiac love compatibility articles, letting them know that your sun signs might be a good match. Maybe, you can even tell them what you and this person have in common and why you think you get along so well. Just make sure they don’t get tired of the mystery and leave.
12. A bit of wishful thinking can be cute
A secret way to say “I love you” in texts can be as simple as telling this person how you wish you were with them right now. Maybe even a “wouldn’t it be nice if we went on a small vacay together?” if you’re feeling extra courageous.
13. Send cute videos off the internet
No, we don’t mean a video of Charlie biting his brother’s finger. Send across a cute video of two lovers reuniting and say something like, “Don’t videos like this make you melt? I wish I had something like this.” On paper, it’s still a secret way to say “I love you” in text, but you still have to be able to take some risks.
14. Hit them with a movie recommendation or a quote
Who doesn’t have an all-time favorite rom-com they can curl up and watch at any time? If you’re figuring out how to secretly text “I love you” to someone, ask them about their favorite romantic movie, recommend one of your favorites, or even send across the cheesiest love quote from a movie.
15. If they’d rather read, send book recommendations or quotes
We don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t mind going through another John Green phase, especially if we’re feeling extra mushy. One of the best ways to let someone know you’d rather stop texting them and hug them as tight as you can is by asking them to read one of your favorite books, which also happens to be an incredibly romantic tear-jerker.
16. Inside jokes to make things more personal
Just like Ted and Robin would instantly salute each other every time someone around them said the words “major” or “general,” “corporal” or anything to do with the army, a few inside jokes can make you very close to this person. Plus, it’s a great way to keep a conversation going. Crack a joke only they’ll understand, and try to subtly reiterate how cute it is that you two have things that only you can laugh at.
17. Talk about things you look forward to
Are you meeting this person soon? Do you have any plans with them? It doesn’t matter if it’s a vacation or just watching a movie together, drop in a, “I can’t wait to meet and spend time with you.” How to secretly text “I love you” can sometimes be as simple as just telling this person you really like spending time with them.
18. Send an Animoji
If you’ve both got an iPhone, sending a fun little Animoji can be a great way of communicating with each other while also making each other laugh. Take it a step further by telling this person a few cute things you admire about them, while you’ve disguised yourself as the cutest Animoji you can find. If you’re looking for things to text when a conversation dies, an Animoji is your best friend.
19. Use that amazing voice and send an audio note
Audio notes can be a great way of telling a person something with a lot more intent than just through words. Forget about secret ways to say “I love you” in text symbols and let them hear your lovely voice.
20. Tell them you care about them
You won’t really be shouting out you love them but letting them know you care about them and want to be supportive is a secret way to say “I love you” in text. Go ahead and send something like, “I just wanted to let you know I admire you as a person and I care about your wellbeing. I hope good things come your way, and I hope I can help you on your journey.” It’ll make their day.
21. Just flirt!
Sometimes, to say “I love you” in different ways, you’ve got to use the most common tactic available: flirting. Although, what’s important is the intent behind your flirting. Make sure it doesn’t seem like you’re only doing this to get in their pants. Let those winky-face emojis and suggestive texts go for a hike. You’re in this for the long haul, let out the hopeless romantic in you. The secret ways to say I love you in text can seem confusing, but they really don’t have to be. Instead of sending them a non-coherent text that kinda says you’re in love but also kinda says you’re a stalker, use any of the tactics we listed out. We know for a fact you won’t be freaking out about their reply when you see them typing.
