About
In France They Don’t Say They Love You, They Say is a meme popularized on Tumblr which involves explaining within the context of a TV show, book or movie, or the place where the piece of pop culture takes place, “They Don’t Say They Love You, They Say,” then finishing the phrase which with a popular phrase within the fandom used to show affection or a statement those in the fandom would understand is comically not affectionate. They often follow the the phrase with, “And I think that’s beautiful.”
Origin
On April 14th, 2013, Tumblr user werepuppyscott[1] published a post which read:
“In France, they don’t say ‘I Love You’. They say instead “cet homme a volé un peu de pain et je vais le chasser pour le reste de sa vie avant de sortir avec lui, je veux dire le mettre en prison”
The French translates to “this man stole some bread and I will hunt for the rest of his life before going out with him, I mean put him in jail.” This references the plot of Les Miserables with a nod to the ship between Javert and Jean Valjean. As of September 2014, the post has gained over 35,000 notes.
Spread
On May 24th, 2013, Tumblr user cozydozer[3] published a post which reads:
“in france, they don’t say “I love you.” they say “je t’aime,” which means “i love you” but they say it in french. I think that’s beautiful.”
On December 11th, Tumblr user captainjaneways-bitch[2] published a post which reads:
“In France they don’t say “I love you” they say “Surprise, salope. Je parie que vous pensiez que vous aviez vu la dernière de moi.” And I think that’s really beautiful.”
The French translates to Surprise bitch, I bet you saw the last of me. As of September 2014, the post has gained over 900 notes.
On May 26th, Tumblr user indiemusicfreak[4] published a post which reads:
“n italy they don’t say “i love you” they say “hey yo tony where’d you get that fresh pepperoni” and i think that’s beautiful”
As of September 2014, the post has gained over 22,000 notes.
On September 14th, Tumblr user camsfarts[5] published a post which reads:
“in Japan they don’t say “I love you” they say “ロボットシンジの中に入る” and I think that’s beautiful."
The Japanese translates to “Get inside the Robot Shinji,” which references the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.