Misa-sensei has tackled this in a video 
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Either that or “I’ll be home soon, I need you to sweep the hallway”
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Naw, “je t’adore” is more friendly than it is romantic. “Je t’aime” can be friendly but it’s definitely more romantic between lovers than just saying “je t’adore”. “Aimer” is just context sensitive, it’s a bit annoying that it’s so broad but in the right context “je t’aime” hits way harder than “je t’adore”.
Disclaimer: I grew up in a French-speaking part of Canada (aka Quebec), idk if it’s different in France.
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It does? Mayeb outside France.
In France it does not.
Je t’aime = I love you
Je t’aime bien = I like you but tbh it sounds stiff and can so easily be understood the opposite way
Je t’adore = I adore you, you’re fabulous type of thing
You said strictly speaking but from a native point of view, I can definitely say “je t’aime” - unless said with an obvious joking tone - means “I love you”.
edit: I should have read the whole thread…
I’ve certainly noticed adorer is being used a lot on social media. Examples would include “j’adore trop ta photo”, “moi aussi je t’adore”. I’d still say it’s used for things and food and actors and such more that for close people/family.
It’s a good way to say you like someone without committing to “je t’aime” which is the real deal.
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Thanks for the clarifications on aimer and adorer (even though I think I just need to listen to even more French… nuances are pretty hard to get just from explanations…).
Should’ve known better than to risk derailing the thread with half-understood French, really 
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I’d like to echo Leebo (and others) in that Japanese don’t really use it the way we do. We use both languages at my house and my gf playfully uses 大好き a lot, but according to her its mostly because she got used to the “I love you” culture in America and wouldn’t normally use it if she were in Japan / with a Japanese bf.
And a word of caution - Its amazing that you and your gf are learning together, that’s a great way to stay motivated, but I would caution against practicing together too much this early on. Most people who do are likely to develop a weaker foundation and form bad habits from listening to and learning from other non-natives.
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To make it short, in French, there is only one commonly used verb for both “to like” and “to love” which means one or the another depending on context: “aimer”.
So, “Je t’aime” is clearly “I love you” and “J’aime le chocolat” is “I like chocolate”.
If you really want to say “I like you”, you could say something like “Je t’apprécie” or “Tu me plais” (with a romantic connotation but less strong than “Je t’aime”). And if you really love chocolate, you would say something like “J’adore le chocolat”.
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Just do this:
[apologies for Spanish subs, only version I could find! ]
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Thank you for the response!
I know it’s not really used the way I’m wanting to use it, this would be something I’d strictly be doing with my gf since we’re so used to the American usage. We know it would not really be appropriate to actually use in Japan.
Do you have a suggestion for your point about being careful from learning too much from non-natives? I didn’t really think about that but I do know that can be an issue if there’s not some caution taken. I’m basically doing Wanikani/Kaniwani/Kitsun.io/Genki right now (I have a lot of free time since school hasn’t started yet, it’ll slow down a bit once it does) and really the only thing I’m doing with my gf is very simple phrases that we know for sure are correct–like the ones from the first few chapters of Genki.
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Thanks! That makes sense and matches my gut feeling (such as it is) as well!
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Join Hello Talk. It’s basically a social media (Facebook) platform for language learners. You plug in your native language and the language you’re studying and you’re basically presented with Facebook full of native Japanese studying and practicing English, and who are more than happy to help you with Japanese. Posts are called “moments” and can include text, photos, and voice clips. What makes HT great is the ability to correct someone’s post to fix grammar, spelling, etc. If your Japanese sounds unnatural, for example, you’ll have half a dozen natives correcting you and explaining how to better communicate your thought/feeling.
I’ve made a lot of close friends through HT and it’s done wonders for my motivation.
I think that 愛してる is said by people on their deathbed to family members too.
It’s like the types of love in western philosophy: eros and philia. With eros being sexual love like 大好き and philia being a higher love like 愛する
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