How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

There are as many terms for telling someone that they are cherished as there are people in the world to be cherished. Here are some that didn’t make it into the book:

French

bout de chou (piece of sweet)

mon chouchou (my dear)

German

mauschen (little mouse)

Italian

passerotto/passerotta (little Sparrow)

Hungarian

bogarkam (my little insect)

Manx

myrneen (honey, sweetheart, beloved)

millish (darling, sweet)

Polish

krazynko (breadcrumb)

babusin (baby)

tygrysek (baby tiger)

Scottish/Gaelic

a bhobain (my darling, rascal)

mo leanbh (my child, to a baby)

Welsh

sosej (sausage)

calon bach (little heart)

cariad (love, precious, golden, little)

Cornish

keresik (darling, dear)

Danish

elskede (beloved, darling)

skat (treasure, honey, sweetie)

guldklumpf (gold nugget)

Icelandic

yndiõ nuítt (my sweetie)

bumbubúi (belly dweller)

Arabic (Lebanese)

Ya’a burnee (may my last day dawn before yours; may you bury me; child, you are so precious to me, I could not live without you)