My partner and I have tried out various terms of endearment (like “love”, “dear”, “baby” or “babe”), but none of them ever sounded natural when either of us used them — it just ended up being silly, and so we do occasionally pepper them into conversation, when we’re being silly.
The one I tend to use most often is “my love”, because it feels silly in an overly poetic and melodramatic manner. Recently I also used “my serendipitous saccharide” (saccharide meaning sugar, because he’s sweet, and serendipitous because this relationship was a surprise to both of us).
Anyway, I’m running out of ideas for terms that will evoke an affectionate eye roll out of him. Any suggestions?
I’ve always loved mon petit chou chou which is roughly “my little cabbage cabbage” from French. I also like jannu, which I think is “my soul” in Urdu? Also solnyshko, little sun, from the Russian, is very fun.