Native French Teacher — Real French, explained simply
Quick answer
In French, you don’t say “I miss you.”
You say “Tu me manques.”
Think of it like this: You are missing to me.
Why?
Because in French, the person who is missed is the subject, not the person who feels the emotion.
The logic
English
I miss you / Subject = I / Object = you
French
Tu me manques / Subject = you / Object = me
So the verb manquer works like this:
Someone is missing to someone.
Visual shortcut
Remember this arrow:
YOU ← are missing ← TO ME
So you say:
Tu me manques.
The full pattern
| English | French |
|---|---|
| I miss you | Tu me manques |
| You miss me | Je te manque |
| I miss her | Elle me manque |
| We miss them | Ils nous manquent |
Formula
[Person who is missed] + me/te/lui/nous/vous/leur (COI) + manquer
Common mistake
❌ Je manque toi
This literally means something like:
“I lack you.”
It sounds strange or incorrect in most situations.
Why French works this way
French often focuses on the cause of the feeling, not the person who feels it.
So instead of saying: “I feel missing”
French says: “You cause the missing.”
Summary
“I miss you” in French = “You are missing to me.”
That’s why you say: Tu me manques.
Quiz
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