25 Ways To Tell Someone You Love Them, With & Without Words

Making the decision to tell someone you love them for the first time can feel like a big deal—because it is! Professing your love is vulnerable, exciting, and a milestone in any relationship, so if you're thinking about saying it to your significant other, here's what relationship experts want you to know about making it meaningful.

Here's our full guide to what true love really feels like, and below, you'll find a quick list of common signs of love:

"There is no precise time when to say I love you, [and it's about] being attuned to when you really feel that way and expressing it at the time that you are sure about how you feel," Spinelli explains, adding to be sure you're not dealing with infatuation, feeling obligated to say it, or otherwise doing it with ulterior motives. "Truly loving someone is when you really accept them and see them in your future in a realistic way," she notes.

Whether you want to simply come out with those three words, express your love nonverbally, or show them you love them through your actions, here are 25 ways to tell (or show) someone you love them, according to Page and Spinelli.

Obviously, saying "I love you" for the first time can be a bit nerve-wracking, but according to Page, this is a good thing. "You do not need to wait for [nervousness] to go away before you say you're in love, or before you proclaim your love. In fact, having those feelings and still proclaiming it makes the experience for the other person that much more moving," he says, adding that anxiousness and fear actually often fuel eros and romance.

While it might be tempting to blurt out that you're in love over a few drinks, Page suggests reeling it in and waiting to say it until you're sober. Not only do you want to have a clear head when you say it, but ideally, you'd want them to have a clear head too. Plus, he notes, "There's a cheapening of the first declaration of love if it happens when you're intoxicated—your partner is probably going to wait and see if you're going to say the same thing when you're stone-cold sober."

Page also advises not fishing to see if the other person expresses their love first. "Don't ask them if they love you before you tell them—that is neither brave nor vulnerable," he says, adding that your own willingness to be brave and vulnerable is a gift to your significant other and the relationship as a whole.

Being in love is exciting, scary, and super vulnerable, and professing that love is no different. Whether you opt to come right out and say it or tell them with your actions at first rather than your words, try not to stress too much about the logistics or verbiage. Just enjoy the ride.