I really love the idea of kids handing out printable bilingual Valentine’s cards to their classmates. These days, knowing a second language is de rigeuer. (See what I did there?) Lots of our kids are growing up in bilingual households, they have grandparents or aunts or uncles who speak another language, or they live in communities and go to schools where other languages are widely spoken. It’s part of what makes our country so cool. And lucky me, I get to hear dozens of languages every day, thanks to my proximity to the Statue of Liberty.

If your child wants to share their own heritage with their classmates this Valentine’s Day, or just honor another language that they are learning (or want to learn), I think these bilingual Valentine’s printables are such a fun idea.

Also, they’re all free!

Oh, and I’m sorry I couldn’t find one in Italian. From what I can tell, La Festa Degli Innamorati is truly a celebration of romantic love and not something for kids. Which isn’t to say you can’t enjoy a heart-shaped pizza on Valentine’s Day in the US, but you can’t call it Italian.

The more you know.

Top: Chinese-English printable Valentines | Chalk Baby

Bilingual Valentines Printables: Chinese and Korean

I really like that Betty from Chalk Academy put together a collection of printable bilingual Valentines cards in English, Korean, and both traditional and simplified Chinese. There are quite a few designs but these trucks are a refreshing break from all the hearts and lace. You can print out two sets, and paste the English to the back of the matching Korean or Chinese card to make them truly bilingual. (Be sure to scroll way down to get the links to the downloads.)

If you’re up for something a little craftier, Betty also offers bilingual printable Valentine’s hearts in Chinese, Korean and English that you can fashion into heart wands. Or, just tape a piece of candy or a little non-candy treat to the heart and hand it out like that. Either way, it’s helpful that she offers a translation guide for those of us who need a little help knowing says “friend” and which says “kind.”

Bilingual Valentines Printables:
Swahili, Amharic, and 7 other African languages

Leave it to One.org to create a Valentine expressing “love” in 9 different African languages. While there are estimated to be as many as 2000 languages spoken across the continent, this includes some of the most common. If your family hails from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa…this might be a very cool Valentine to hand out.

Bilingual Valentines Printables: French

These

French-English printable Valentine’s cards

 from Lady Deeig are so simple and sweet. Makes me want to spread out a picnic blanket and eat cornichons! She also has a link to the same cards in Spanish, if you like the design. Only then I guess you’ll have to be craving…aicetunas? You can print out both the French and the English versions and glue-stick them together or just hand out both.

Bilingual Valentines Printables: Spanish

I think this bilingual color-your-own Valentine’s card in Spanish and English is so sweet! It comes from our friends at Spanglish Baby, created by Kimberly of Bebe Bilingual on Etsy. Kids can color in the whole thing, or just the hearts or the bear, saving the rest for their friends. And if you don’t want the hassle of cutting out the shape, no worries — it’s great as a standard rectangular Valentine too. (Just note the site is no longer operational, but you can still download this printable.)

 

Bilingual Valentines Printables: ASL

Parents has a video tutorial for a ASL Valentine’s Cards that you can DIY pretty easily. If your child doesn’t have 29 of these to make (here’s to small pre-k classes!) this could be a really special project. If your child learns one phrase in American Sign Language, it might as well be I Love You.