Infinitive: люби́ть — "to love; to like (deeply, lastingly)" Aspect: imperfective (its perfective partner полюби́ть means "to come to love / fall in love"; see the люби́ть / полюби́ть page) Type: regular second conjugation, with one twist — the labial mutation б → бл in the 1sg only
люби́ть is the verb you reach for to say you love a person, and the verb you reach for to say you like an activity or a kind of thing in general. It is a textbook second-conjugation verb with a single famous irregularity: in the я form the labial stem-consonant б sprouts an -л-, giving люблю́ — but only there. Every other person keeps the plain б: лю́бишь, лю́бит, лю́бят. This page lays out the whole paradigm, then walks through what each form is for and how люби́ть divides the labour of "like" with нра́виться.
Present tense — the б→бл mutation
| Person | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| я | люблю́ | б → бл, end-stressed |
| ты | лю́бишь | plain б; stress now on the stem |
| он / она́ / оно́ | лю́бит | — |
| мы | лю́бим | — |
| вы | лю́бите | — |
| они́ | лю́бят | 2nd-conj. -ят ending |
Two things to lock in. First, the mutation is confined to the 1sg: only люблю́ has the inserted -л-. This is the regular behaviour of labial stems (б, п, в, ф, м) in the second conjugation — compare спать → сплю, купи́ть → куплю́. Second, the stress moves: the 1sg люблю́ is end-stressed, but from the 2sg onward the stress retreats onto the stem — лю́бишь, лю́бит, лю́бят. This end-stress-then-retreat shift is one of the commonest stress patterns in Russian, so it is worth feeling in the mouth, not just reading.
Я о́чень люблю́ свою́ рабо́ту.
I really love my job. — 1sg люблю́ with the inserted -л-.
Ты лю́бишь ко́фе или ча́й?
Do you like coffee or tea? — 2sg лю́бишь, stress back on the stem; люби́ть for a general preference.
Они́ лю́бят гуля́ть по ве́черам.
They like to go for walks in the evenings. — лю́бят + infinitive = 'like doing'.
Past tense — regular, gender-marked
The past is built off the infinitive stem люби́- and behaves like every Russian past tense: it agrees with the subject in gender and number, not person. Stress stays on the -и́- throughout.
| Gender / number | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine | люби́л |
| feminine | люби́ла |
| neuter | люби́ло |
| plural | люби́ли |
Because the imperfective past describes a love or liking that simply held over a stretch of time, it is the normal way to say "I used to love / I loved (for years)."
В де́тстве я люби́ла ри́совать.
As a child I loved to draw. (feminine speaker → люби́ла) — an ongoing childhood habit, imperfective.
Он всегда́ люби́л класси́ческую му́зыку.
He always loved classical music. — люби́л, a lasting state in the past.
Future tense — the бу́ду compound
люби́ть is imperfective, so its future is the compound future: бу́ду / бу́дешь / … + the imperfective infinitive люби́ть. (There is no simple future for люби́ть itself; the one-shot "I'll come to love" sense belongs to the perfective полюби́ть — полюблю́.)
| Person | Future |
|---|---|
| я | бу́ду люби́ть |
| ты | бу́дешь люби́ть |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет люби́ть |
| мы | бу́дем люби́ть |
| вы | бу́дете люби́ть |
| они́ | бу́дут люби́ть |
Я бу́ду люби́ть тебя́ всегда́.
I'll love you always. — compound future бу́ду люби́ть, an enduring future state.
Imperative
| Addressee | Form |
|---|---|
| ты (informal) | люби́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | люби́те |
The imperative of a feeling-verb is rarer than for action verbs (you can't really order someone to feel something), but it lives on in slogans, song lyrics, and elevated encouragement.
Люби́те друг дру́га.
Love one another. — люби́те, a formal/plural exhortation; note люби́те = imperative, distinct from the present-tense лю́бите 'you love' by stress.
Participles and verbal adverb
| Form | Russian | Note |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | лю́бящий | "loving / one who loves" |
| present passive participle | люби́мый | "beloved / favourite" — extremely common as an everyday adjective |
| past active participle | люби́вший | "who loved" — (literary / written) |
| verbal adverb (imperfective) | любя́ | "loving / while loving" — (literary) |
The standout here is люби́мый. Although it is technically the passive participle ("[being] loved"), in everyday Russian it functions as an ordinary adjective meaning "favourite / beloved" — люби́мый фильм "favourite film," люби́мая пе́сня "favourite song." Learners should know it as a high-frequency word, not as an exotic participle.
Э́то моя́ люби́мая кни́га.
This is my favourite book. — люби́мая used as a plain 'favourite' adjective, agreeing with кни́га.
Мать, лю́бящая свои́х дете́й, сде́лает всё.
A mother who loves her children will do anything. — present active participle лю́бящая, bookish register.
Key uses & collocations
1. люби́ть + accusative — loving a person or thing
To love someone or something concrete, use люби́ть with the accusative (the direct-object case). For animate objects this is the genitive-shaped accusative; for inanimates it looks like the nominative. The mechanics of which object case to use are on the accusative object page.
Я люблю́ свою́ семью́.
I love my family. — люби́ть + accusative семью́ (feminine -ю).
Она́ лю́бит э́тот го́род.
She loves this city. — accusative э́тот го́род (inanimate, looks like nominative).
2. люби́ть + infinitive — liking to do something
To say you like doing an activity, follow люби́ть with an imperfective infinitive. The English "I like cooking / I like to cook" both map onto Я люблю́ гото́вить.
Я люблю́ чита́ть пе́ред сном.
I like to read before bed. — люби́ть + imperfective infinitive чита́ть.
Де́ти лю́бят игра́ть в па́рке.
The children like playing in the park. — лю́бят + игра́ть.
3. люби́ть vs нра́виться — the central distinction
English uses like for both a deep, lasting fondness and a fresh, momentary reaction. Russian splits them:
- люби́ть = a settled, general, lasting love or liking ("I love / am fond of, as a rule").
- нра́виться = "to be pleasing to (someone)" — used for a specific instance or a new, current reaction. Crucially, нра́виться flips the grammar: the thing liked is the grammatical subject (nominative), and the liker is in the dative: Мне нра́вится э́тот фильм = literally "to-me is-pleasing this film."
Я люблю́ ру́сскую ку́хню.
I love Russian cuisine (in general, as a rule). — люби́ть = lasting, general fondness.
Мне нра́вится э́то блю́до.
I like this dish (the one in front of me). — нра́виться: dative liker мне, nominative thing-liked блю́до.
The rule of thumb: if you could say "in general, as a habit" → люби́ть; if you mean "this particular one, right now / this strikes me as nice" → нра́виться. The full contrast, with all the edge cases, is on the нра́виться vs люби́ть page.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я любю́ ко́фе.
Incorrect — the 1sg has the labial mutation б→бл: люблю́, not 'любю́'.
✅ Я люблю́ ко́фе.
I like coffee.
❌ Я люблю́ мой друг.
Incorrect — люби́ть takes the accusative; for an animate masculine object that's the genitive-shaped form: моего́ дру́га.
✅ Я люблю́ моего́ дру́га.
I love my friend.
❌ Мне нра́вится тебя́. / Я нра́влюсь э́ту пе́сню.
Incorrect — нра́виться flips roles: the thing liked is the subject (nominative), the liker is dative. 'I like this song' = Мне нра́вится э́та пе́сня.
✅ Мне нра́вится э́та пе́сня.
I like this song.
❌ Я люблю́ э́тот фильм, я то́лько что посмотре́л его́. (meaning a fresh reaction)
Mismatch — for a fresh, just-now reaction Russians use нра́виться, not люби́ть. люби́ть = a settled, general love.
✅ Мне понра́вился э́тот фильм.
I liked this film (the one I just watched).
❌ За́втра я бу́ду люблю́ тебя́.
Incorrect — the compound future takes the INFINITIVE, not a conjugated form: бу́ду люби́ть.
✅ Я всегда́ бу́ду люби́ть тебя́.
I'll always love you.
Key Takeaways
- Present: люблю́ / лю́бишь / лю́бит / лю́бим / лю́бите / лю́бят. The 1sg люблю́ has the labial mutation б → бл (only there) and is end-stressed; from the 2sg on the stress retreats onto the stem.
- Past: люби́л / люби́ла / люби́ло / люби́ли — agrees in gender/number, stress fixed on -и́-.
- Future: compound only — бу́ду люби́ть etc. (the perfective полюби́ть gives the simple полюблю́).
- Imperative: люби́ / люби́те (end-stress) — distinct from present лю́бите by stress alone.
- Government: люби́ть + accusative (a person/thing) or + imperfective infinitive (an activity).
- люби́ть vs нра́виться: люби́ть = lasting, general love; нра́виться = a specific/fresh reaction, with the dative liker and nominative thing (Мне нра́вится…).
- люби́мый is the everyday word for "favourite / beloved," and the participle лю́бящий = "loving."
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- Нравиться vs ЛюбитьA2 — How to choose between нра́виться ('to be pleasing to', dative experiencer) and люби́ть ('to love / to like deeply or habitually') — with a one-question test, the present-vs-permanent contrast, and the trap that Я нра́влюсь means 'I am liked', not 'I like'.
- Полюбить and the inceptive По-B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair люби́ть / полюби́ть 'to love': second-conjugation люби́ть (люблю́, лю́бишь — note the л-epenthesis in я-form) versus the perfective полюби́ть, where the prefix по- does not mark completion but inception — 'to come to love, to fall in love' — the same inchoative по- you meet in полюби́ть, понра́виться and захоте́ть, turning a stable state into the moment it begins.
- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second-conjugation present paradigm: говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т, with theme vowel -и-. Covers the Л-insertion model люби́ть → люблю́, the 1sg consonant mutation, and the spelling rule that gives слы́шу/слы́шат and учу́/у́чат after hushing consonants.
- Verb Government: Which Case Each Verb TakesB1 — Verb government (управле́ние) — the rule that each Russian verb fixes the CASE (or preposition + case) of its object, and that this case is lexical, not predictable from meaning or from English. Most transitive verbs take the accusative (чита́ть кни́гу), but a large minority take the dative (помога́ть дру́гу), genitive (боя́ться соба́ки), instrumental (занима́ться спо́ртом), or a fixed preposition (ду́мать о тебе́). The insight English speakers miss: 'help', 'use', 'be afraid of' look transitive in English but aren't in Russian — so the case must be stored WITH the verb, like its aspect partner.
- Genitive or Accusative? The Object Case DecisionB1 — A focused decision page on when a direct object takes the GENITIVE rather than the ACCUSATIVE: the obligatory genitive after the existential нет (нет вре́мени), the partitive 'some' of a mass noun (нале́й воды́), the genitive of negation (я не зна́ю отве́та), and the verbs that lexically govern the genitive (боя́ться, indefinite жда́ть, иска́ть, проси́ть, жела́ть). Includes a decision flowchart, minimal pairs (жда́ть авто́буса vs жда́ть Ма́шу; вы́пить ча́я vs вы́пить чай), and a sharp warning that animate-accusative-looking-like-genitive (ви́жу бра́та) is a FORM coincidence, not genitive government.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.