I've been spending time lately thinking and comparing the different kind of pet names French and English-speakers give their loved ones. Some are the same, obviously, but there are some I'm particularly fond of that English-speakers use that French-speakers don't, and vice versa. I'll name a few here. Among the English ones I really like "sweetie pie", "honey pie", "honey pot"... So those "edible" ones tend to move me particularly. It's like someone admitting they like you so much they'd fancy eating you like they would a cupcake, you know... It's a nice thing to suggest, to me. Among the French ones I like "my flea" (feminine), "my rabbit" and "my treasure" a lot. Many parents actually call their kids by those names. What about you? Which are you fond of? Which don't you like at all? If English isn't your mother tongue, which are used in your native tongue that otherwise aren't?
I dislike most English terms of endearment, but "baby" is the one that makes my skin crawl the most. I like some Russian ones that translate to "mouseling", "bunny", and "little sparrow".
The only one I ever use is "baby". Although I do like "honey", "hon", and "babe" as well. Edit: Wait those are commonly used in the English language, oops...
Daddy is all miss with me. One girl I had we used to call each other roisin (roe-shin) and bodail (bo-dee). One's Gaelic slang for 'rose' and the other's for 'phallus'.
My bf calls me 'kitty' or some variant thereof. He says it's because early on in our relationship I used to curl up in his arms and doze off like a kitten on a lap. I don't like being called 'baby' or 'babe' by someone I'm not dating.
Having grown up in Germany, I've always been partial to "Schatzi" (which means "little treasure"). My wife and I use "sweetie" to each other. If she says "honey" it's usually followed by a criticism.
According to google translate (French to English)- Mon petit chou means my little cabbage, but mon petit chouchou means my sweetheart. Also found this article, which amused me somewhat: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/13-best-pet-names-in-other-languages/
Currently living in Germany, or more accurately Frankonia, I've discovered that Germans use some very affectionate terms. Above JLT mentioned "Schatzi", which can also be "Schätzelein" or simply "Schatz", but I have also heard "Hase" which basically means "Rabbit" but sounds a lot cuter. They also have a very adorable way of referring to babies as "Kleine Maus", or just "Maus" which means... mouse. Other than that I'm very fond of the Arabic "Habibi" (for a man) or "Habibti" (for a woman) which means something like "my dearest" or "my love" though close same sex friends also use this term of endearment for each other, it's not a term just for lovers and I really like that about it.
Daddy- Freud is only proving his theory with the whole father daughter thing, so no. Mommy (Mummy)- Same thing applies, cause that is just messed up. Squishy Bear- Now that is an affectionate name. Eating someone well now...um I am sure there is a small community of people who find cannibalism quite kinky, but that is a tiny and probably exclusive lot. And because ya'll need a touch a Klingon to really try something new. parmaq: Love ghu: Baby quv yIvum 'ach yInISQo': Sweetness saab: Sexxy
In no language should the word "Saab" ever amount to "Sexy". The Saab 99. The Saab Viggen. The Saab Gripen. Any Saab ever. I rest my case. I'd like to add that I personally am not fond of Mommy or Daddy for reasons of, well, it's weird. Also, I'm not attacking anyone who uses honey, honey bunny, honey pot, hon or any other variation thereof, but after working in a bar that served mostly American soldiers I couldn't help but notice that the types of people that used any of the Honey Family of endearments were often some of the most vacuous, superficial people I have ever had the misfortune to come across. The same sort of people that think it's ok to order a cocktail by saying "Make me something fruity hon", or clicking their fingers at you to get your attention.
Why are bears considered to be affectionate? Surely most would try to eat a human being? The squishy just isn't helping here. Trust you to suggest Klingon, and to have the Klingon for sweetness! Is that even pronounceable in English?
Daddy definitely seems more common than mommy, but that's just my experience. It may be important to not interpret its use with a Freudian or literal approach. That's what's making it weird. You could make baby pretty weird if you choose to interpret literally, or if you imagine that Freud might've seen it as a cognitive slip of an unconscious desire to molest children. --- One very uncommon one to me is poppet. First heard of it in the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Never heard it or seen it anywhere else, in media or otherwise. I looked it up and it's an actual word though. For years I thought they were saying "puppet" or "puppy".
A million years ago I work with a lady named Enid who was from Bath, Somerset. She called me poppet all the time. It's stuck with me ever since. ----------------------------------------------------- In Puerto Rico we have a host of endearments that we use with a much freer hand than current cultural trends in the U.S. decree as meet and seemly. We've not had the PC Police beat our tongues into submission quite yet. Common ones are: Cielo - heaven Corazón - heart Mi amor - my love Cariño - cherished Papi* - technically "daddy" but its use is very different here than its borrowed deployment in English. And the one that gives mainland Anglophone Americans no end of fits: Negro/Negrito, Negra/Negrita** *Papi - In Latino culture this word can be used for any male, regardless of one's technical relationship and using it has more to do with levels of intimacy and closeness. A son will call his father papi. A father will call his son papi. A mother will call her son papi. A girlfriend will call her boyfriend papi. A boyfriend will call his boyfriend papi. A wife will call her husband papi. A husband will call his husband papi. And on rare occasions, two close male friends may call one another papi (often shortened to just pa), if no one else is in earshot, often as a prelude to a request or favore, or an apology, but not always or necessarily. **Negro/Negrito, Negra/Negrita - To understand this one, you just have to accept the fact that cultural history is different here than in the U.S. or other Anglophone areas. Ours is a much more mixed culture, ethnically, and has always been, with most families - mine included - answering to "variety pack" as regards skin color and other phenotypic expressions. And though the endearment clearly finds its origin in the unaltered Spanish word for "black", and it does have to do directly with the strong African demographic to be found here, it doesn't really have anything to do with a person's skin color in modern times. It's just an endearment, usually (but not always) reserved for romantic relationships. A parent may use this for a child, but never the other way around. Again, you just have to accept that our cultural wiring is different.
Yes, poppet is quite an old-fashioned British term of endearment, generally for little girls. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/poppet Apparently, it is also a term for a doll. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppet But just to make things weird, we also have chocolate covered treats called Poppets.
But then again, "meatball" (polpetto) is endearing in Italian but definitely not in English. Because not many people have actually seen a real one, but everybody's had a toy one as a kid and they are adoooooorbs "tesoro" and "topolino" in Italian. "Treasure" and "honey bunny" is also used in English. It's rare. But then there are a lot of regional expressions in England. Sadly most of them are getting lost with the older generation dying off and the new generations using all the same stuff they hear all over the Internet.
My hubby calls me kulta in public, which translates to 'gold'. In private, I'm pupu which translates to 'bunny' and apparently sounds like poo poo to an English speaker, but whatever. The nicknames I have for him are harder to translate, but they basically refer to someone bear-like. I like French endearments. I think they're super cute in their randomness. 'Babe' and 'baby' -- not so much.
'Gold', that's gorgeous. Or calling someone you love 'heaven'... If I had kids I'd most probably smother them with those.
