What are the names you use to show affection for your beloved person? Honey, darling, my treasure?

People in different cultures love to play with words and give compliments to their beloved person. But, how would your beloved react if you called her/him a little flea, a snake, a dog, or a cabbage?

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Passionate Latin Lovers

A South American lover in Chile or Peru may whisper to the ear of his/her beloved perrita (a little dog) while she calls him gallo (cockerel), Oso/osito (bear or little bear), gato/gatito (cat or little cat) and even mono/monito (monkey or little monkey).

The Mexican man might call his beloved wife gordita (fat woman) though she might be slim or his wife as mi vieja (my old woman) though she might be young. Mi vieja shows much respect and affection and doesn’t mean my old hag, as someone with less insight might interpret.

Amorous French Names for Lovers

The French and Belgian men associate love with gastronomic delight by calling their beloved mon chou (my cabbage) as men in Somalia  use qaali. The amorous French man might call his lover ma biche (my doe), ma puce (my little flea), ma cocotte or ma poule (my little chicken) or ma petite caille (my little quail). For her, the gallant Gaul is mon gros loup (my big wolf) or mon lapin (my rabbit).

Slavic Names for Lovers

The Poles bring a colourful menagerie into the arena of amour. In Poland the beloved woman might be called a rybko (fish), zabeczko (a frog), muszko (a tiny fly), króliczku (chick), ptaszku (little bird) or even musczeczko (tiny sweet fly).

For the Serbs, an entire zoo can be present in the bedroom. Misˇu (a mouse), Pile malo (little chicken), prase (piglet), konj (horse), kobila (mare). The Serbian man might call his beloved dragana, while she will call him a dragan. Dragan sounds like a dragon but it has nothing to do with fire-spouting mythical beasts but means sweet or beloved. The Russians also have many animals in their lovey-dovey embraces – Legushka (little frog), rybochka (little fish), kissochka (little snake), svinochka (piglet), krysochka (little mouse) or sokol (falcon).

Quiet Finns

Even the quiet Finns use animal names such as puluseni (my pigeon), kissimirri (my little kitten) or karhuseni (my little bear) for amorous verbal exchanges. Lovers are commonly called kyyhkyläiset (doves).

Mothers-in-Law get the Wrong End of the Stick

Despite all this sweetness and cooing between beautiful ladies and amorous men, the expressions used for some mother in laws (usually behind their back) may not be very sweet. Mother-in-law jokes can be found in every human culture. The Aboriginal societies in Australia understood this human inclination and had institutionalised behaviour models for dealing with mothers-in-law. They had customs prohibiting people from directly talking to their mother-in-law. To reduce friction, both men and women needed to communicate to a mother-in-law via a third person.

What animal or strange names have you been called by in a loving manner?