He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not

He/She Loves Me, He/She Loves Me Not or effeuiller la marguerite (in French) is a game of French origin, in which one person seeks to determine whether the object of their affection returns that affection or not.

A person playing the game alternately speaks the phrases "He [or she] loves me," and "He loves me not," while picking one petal off a flower (especially an ox-eye daisy) for each phrase. The phrase they speak on picking off the last petal supposedly represents the truth between the object of their affection loving them or not. The outcome depends on whether the flower has an even or odd number of petals. The player typically is motivated by attraction to the person they're speaking of while reciting the phrases. They may seek to reaffirm a pre-existing belief, or act out of whimsy.

A humorous twist on the game, is, "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Lots."

Other languages

*Catalan: "M'estima... no m'estima" (translates to "he/she loves me... doesn't love me")

*Danish: "Han/hun elsker mig... han/hun elsker mig ikke" (translates to "he/she loves me... he/she doesn't love me")

*Dutch: "Hij/zij houdt van me, hij/zij houdt niet van me" (translates to "He/she loves me, he/she loves me not")

*Esperanto: "Li/Ŝi amas min... Li/Ŝi ne amas min" (translates to "He/She loves me...He/she loves me not)

*Finnish: "Rakastaa...ei rakasta" (translates to "loves... doesn't love")

*French: "Il/elle m'aime un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, à la folie, pas du tout" (translates to "He/she loves me a little, a lot, passionately, madly, not at all"). This makes the potential outcomes more numerous. (This arrangement is featured written in various locations throughout the Death Cab For Cutie Video for "What Sarah Said".)

*German: "Er/sie liebt mich... Er/sie liebt mich nicht" (translates to "he/she loves me... he/she loves me not")

*Hungarian: "Szeret... nem szeret" (translates "to he/she loves me... doesn't love me")

*Italian: "Mi ama... non mi ama" (translates "to he/she loves me... doesn't love me")

*Polish: "Kocha... nie kocha" (translates to "he/she loves me... he/she loves me not"). Alternatively: "Kocha... lubi... szanuje..." (translates to "he/she loves me... he/she likes me... he/she respects me...")

*Portuguese: "Bem me quer... mal me quer" (translates "to he/she loves me... doesn't love me")

*Romanian: "Mă iubeşte....nu mă iubeşte" (translates "to he/she loves me... he/she loves me not")

*Russian: "Любит....не любит" (translates to he/she loves me... he/she loves me not)

*Spanish: "Me quiere... no me quiere", "Me ama... no me ama" (both translates to he/she loves me... doesn't love me)

*Swedish: "Älskar... älskar inte" (translates to "Loves... doesn't love")

*Turkish: "Seviyor... Sevmiyor" (translates to "he/she loves me... doesn't love me")

References

*" [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1932490388&id=P2G78CAsT00C&pg=RA1-PA63&lpg=RA1-PA63&dq=%22un+peu,+beaucoup,+passionn%C3%A9ment%22&sig=qeMQsmMjtp3UagpHaNXnG_XR46k The French at Home: A Nation's Character, Culture and Genius as Observed by an American Diplomat] ", Albert Rhodes, 1875 (republished 2005)
*" [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521425816&id=g14256obm_gC&pg=RA4-PA41&lpg=RA4-PA41&ots=vVPo6vVNyK&dq=%22un+peu,+beaucoup,+passionn%C3%A9ment%22&sig=iTOoelUD7vk5dzyBAVge62i5CxU effeuiller la marguerite] " - Cambridge French-English Thesaurus by Marie-Noëlle Lamy, Richard Towell, 1998
*" [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0471748315?keywords=effeuiller%20la%20marguerite&p=S059&checkSum=GWK72sBFq%2fmboKGXT1dOxCzv7vlI7mqz4WvKTNYV%2f6o= effeuiller la marguerite] " - Webster's New World Concise French Dictionary
* [http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22she+loves+me+she+loves+me+not%22+petal&btnG=Search+Books&as_brr=0 Book references] (English language search on Google Books)
* [http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22un+peu,+beaucoup,+passionn%C3%A9ment%22&sa=N&start=0 Book references] (French language search on Google Books)