Whether you’re chatting to Italian friends, or reconnecting with Italian relatives, you’ll want to know how to show your love to the Italians in your life.
But you’ll want to adapt what you say depending on who you’re talking to: friends, family or a romantic partner.
In this lesson, you’ll learn the common expressions Italians use to say “I love you”. Some of them might make you smile. Have fun practicing!
The Most Common Way to Say I Love You in Italian
The classic way to express romantic love in Italian is:
| Ti amo | Tee AH-moh |
For example:
Ti amo, amore -I love you, darling
Ti amo tanto! -I love you so much!
I Love You in Italian: The Mistake to Avoid
Now that you know how to say “I love you in Italian”, you might be tempted to use it with all your Italian relatives or friends...it might not be a good idea.
In fact, in Italian we say ti amo just for romantic love .
To say “I love you” to family and friends, you can use:
| Ti voglio bene | Tee VOH-lyoh BEH-neh |
Ti voglio bene literally means “I want good for you”. Here’s how you might use it:
For example:
Ti voglio bene, mamma! -I love you, Mom!
Grazie per tutto, ti voglio bene -Thank you for everything, I love you
Other Ways to Say I Love You in Italian
Ti amo or Ti voglio bene might not always be the right choice for “I love you”, depending on the situation.
Here are some other ways you can show you love someone in Italian. It’s easy to come across phrases that might sound nice but aren’t used by Italians, so we've made sure to highlight the ones they really use.
| Ti adoro | I adore you | Tee ah-DOH-roh |
| Ti ammiro | I admire you | Tee ahm-MEE-roh |
| Ti apprezzo | I appreciate you | Tee ahp-PRET-tsoh |
| Ti stimo molto | I really respect you | Tee STEE-moh MOHL-toh |
| Mi piaci molto | I really like you | Mee PYA-chee MOHL-toh |
| Sei importante per me | You’re important to me | Say imp-or-TAN-teh pehr meh |
| Ti amo davvero | I really love you (romantic) | Tee AH-moh dahv-VEH-roh |
| Ti amo tanto | I love you so much (romantic) | Tee AH-moh TAHN-toh |
| Ti voglio tanto bene | I love you a lot | Tee VOHL-yoh TAHN-toh BEH-neh |
| Ti voglio un mondo di bene | I love you so much (lit. I want a world of good for you) | Tee VOHL-yoh oon MOHN-doh dee BEH-neh |
| Ti penso sempre | I’m always thinking about you | Tee PEN-soh SEM-preh |
| Mi manchi tanto | I miss you so much | Mee MAHN-kee TAHN-toh |
| Sei l’amore della mia vita | You’re the love of my life | Say lah-MOH-reh DEL-lah MEE-ah VEE-tah |
| Sei la mia anima gemella | You’re my soulmate | Say lah MEE-ah AH-nee-mah jeh-MEHL-lah |
| Sono innamorat o di te | I’m in love with you(I=male) | SOH-noh een-nah-moh-RAH-toh/ah dee teh |
| Sono innamorat a di te | I’m in love with you(I=female) | SOH-noh een-nah-moh-RAH-ah dee teh |
| Sto bene con te | I’m happy with you (lit. I feel good with you) | Stoh BEH-neh kohn teh |
| Ti lovvo* | I love you | Tee LOV-voh |
| T.V.B.** | I love you | Tee voo BEE |
*playful mix of Italian & English. You can use it with friends and family in a jokey way.
**short for "ti voglio bene" — a casual way to say “I love you” in messages or real life, like the English “ILY.”
For example:
Ti amo davvero, con tutto il cuore. - I really love you, with all my heart
Ti voglio tanto bene, sei come una sorella per me. - I love you a lot, you’re like a sister to me
Mi manchi tanto! Quando ci vediamo? - I miss you so much, when can we see each other?
Cara Brody, ti adoro! - Dear Brody, I adore you!
How to Reply to “I love You” in Italian
If someone says “I love you” and you don’t reply, it could get pretty awkward. They might think you don’t feel the same way. So here are some ways you can say “I love you back” in Italian.
Although you might not actually be on the same page, in which case there are some options for saying that too.
| Anch’io ti amo | I love you too | An-KEE-oh tee AH-moh |
| Anch’io ti voglio bene | I love you too | An-KEE-oh tee VOH-lyoh BEH-neh |
| Grazie | Thank you | GRATS-yeh |
| Non sono ancora pront o | I’m not ready yet(I=male) | Non SOH-noh an-KOH-rah PROHN-toh |
| Non sono ancora pron ta | I’m not ready yet(I=female) | Non SOH-noh an-KOH-rah PROHN-tah |
| Mi dispiace, non provo lo stesso. | I’m sorry, I don’t feel the same way. | Mee dee-SPYAH-cheh, non PROH-voh loh STEH-soh |
For example:
Ti amo tanto! -I love you so much!
Anch’io ti amo! -I love you too!
How to Say “I Love You” in Italian with Terms of Endearment
Italians love using pet names and affectionate words. Here are a few you’ll hear all the time:
| Amore | Love | Ah-MOH-reh |
| Amo’ | Love (short for amore, used between friends) | AH-moh |
| Car o | Dear (male) | KAH-roh/ah |
| Car a | Dear (female) | KAH-rah |
| Gioia | Joy | JOH-yah |
| Tesoro | Darling (lit. treasure) | Teh-ZOH-roh |
For example:
Amore, facciamo un giro insieme? -Love, shall we go for a walk together?
Ciao gioia, vuoi un gelato? -Hello joy, do you want an ice-cream
Ti porto il caffè, tesoro. -I’ll bring you a coffee, darling.
Amore, andiamo a fare un’escursione? - Love, shall we go for a hike?
I Love You in Italian: 30 Romantic Phrases: Review
Now you know several meaningful ways to say “I love you” in Italian. Let’s review the key phrases and when to use them.
How to say I love you:
-
For romantic partners: Ti amo -I love you
-
For friends and family: Ti voglio bene -I love you
Other ways of saying you love someone in Italian:
Ti amo tanto -I love you so much
Mi piaci molto -I really like you
Sto bene con te -I’m happy with you
Terms of endearment in Italian:
Amore -Love
Tesoro -Darling
Caro/a -Dear
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: In this episode, you’ll find out about different ways to say “I love you” in Italian.
K: Italians have quite a lot of expressions to show love and affection. Many of them contain the word amore, which means “love”.
M: Amore (x2). Italians say it all the time.
K: It’s really fun to say with all the vowels, you feel really Italian when you say it: amooooo-reh!
Before we learn more expressions to talk about love in Italian, can we ask you a quick favore? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you click the “follow” or “subscribe” button? This way every time there’s a new episode for you to listen to, you’ll get a notification, and you’ll help our podcast grow so that we can keep making free lessons like this one. Grazie!
M: In this conversation, you’ll hear Katie and I using lots of different romantic expressions. How many can you hear?
M: Ciao amore, come stai? Sei bellissima! Tesoro, ti adoro! Sei un amore.
K: Ah che carino Matteo. Anch’io ti amo tanto.
M: Ah ciao Katie. In realtà, parlo con Brody.
K: Matteo said:
M: Ciao amore, come stai? - Hello love, how are you? Ciao - Hi
Amore - love
Come - how
Stai - you are
K: Amore is a really common affectionate name in Italian, which literally means “love”.
M: You can use it with both men and women, so I could call Katie amore and she could call me amore as well.
K: It’s not just used in romantic relationships, parents might also say amore to their children.
Then Matteo said:
Sei bellissima. Tesoro, ti adoro! - You’re so beautiful. Darling, I love you!
Literally:
Sei - you are
Bellissima - very beautiful
Tesoro - treasure
Ti - you
Adoro - I adore
K: So the word very beautiful…
M: Bellissima (x2)
K: …has this very Italian sounding -issima on the end. You can add issima (or issimo for the masculine version) to a word to make it mean very.
M: So bellissima (very beautiful) or bellissimo (very handsome) is a great phrase to use to flatter someone about their appearance.
K: Then Matteo used another affectionate term:
M: Tesoro - treasure.
K: Even if it sounds over-the-top romantic, this is a word Italians actually use with each other a lot. A bit like how some people use “darling” or “honey” in English.
After tesoro, Matteo said:
M: Ti adoro (x2)
K:. It’s like the English “I adore you”. But in Italy, I think it’s probably used a bit more often. Did you hear the order of this phrase?
M:
Ti – you
Adoro – I adore
In Italian, we put the “you” first in these kinds of phrases, so it’s literally “you, I adore”
M:
Ti adoro (x2)
K: Then Matteo continued:
M: Sei un amore. - You’re a sweetheart. Literally:
Sei - you are
Un - a
Amore - love
K: We saw the word amore , or “love”. You can use this word to create a full sentence and say: sei un amore . It’s like saying “you’re a sweetheart” or “you’re so lovely”. Basically you can use it to tell someone you think they’re great.
I thought Matteo was telling me all these romantic things, so I said: M: Ah che carino Matteo - ah how sweet Matteo
Che - how
Carino - sweet
K: Carino (or sweet) is a word that gets used a lot in Italy. If you’re describing someone’s physical appearance, it can be used to mean nice-looking. But it can also be used to mean how sweet or how kind and you can use it with either friends or family.
M: Like you might say che carino, grazie - how sweet of you, thank you.
K: Then I replied:
Anch’io ti amo tanto - I also love you lots. Literally:
Anch’io - Also I
Ti - you
Amo - I love
Tanto - so much
K: So here you heard how to say “I love you” in Italian. Literally “you, I love”:
M: Ti amo (x2)
K: And here, it was actually inside the reply, so if you’re wondering what to say if someone says “I love you”, this is a phrase you can use. I love you too in Italian is literally anch’io (also I) ti (you) amo (I love)”
M: Anch’io ti amo (x2)
K: Just be careful when you use this one. In Italian, ti amo is only used to talk about romantic love, not with friends and family.
M: Better to hear it from us here first, so you don’t have to learn it the hard way.
K: But Matteo didn’t realise I was there, so he said:
M: Ah ciao Katie! - Ah, hi Katie.
M: In realtà, parlo con Brody - Actually, I’m talking to Brody. Literally:
In - in
Realtà - reality
Parlo - I speak
Con - with
Brody
K: [...]
M: [...]
K: By the way, if you want to know a really good language tip, forcing your brain to try and remember something really helps words stick. So let’s do a mini quiz to see what romantic phrases you can remember in Italian.
K: What’s a common term of affection in Italian, that literally means “love”?
[...]
M: Amore (x2)
K: Or there’s also the other term, literally meaning “treasure”, which is used a bit like “darling” or “honey”:
[...]
M: Tesoro (x2)
K: How would you say “I adore you” in Italian? Literally “you, I adore”?
M: Ti adoro (x2)
K: And a way to say “I love you” that’s only used in a romantic way?
M: Ti amo (x2)
K: Let’s listen to the whole conversation again.
M: Ciao amore, come stai? Sei bellissima! Tesoro, ti adoro! Sei un amore.
K: Ah che carino Matteo. Anch’io ti amo tanto.
M: Ah ciao Katie. In realtà, parlo con Brody.
M: But these definitely aren’t the only ways to talk about love. Depending on the situation you’re in, there are other phrases which fit better.
K: On our blog you’ll find a list of common Italian expressions, so you can avoid learning awkward phrases that Italians don’t actually use that you sometimes find online or in textbooks. To get the full list and learn when and when not to say them, you can go to our blog post! Just click the link in the description or visit italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 172.
M: See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
I Love You in Italian: Quiz and Vocabulary Cards
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: I Love You in Italian
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: I love you in Italian
Vocabulary
Ti voglio bene, mamma = I love you, mom
Ti voglio tanto bene, sei come una sorella per me = I love you a lot, you’re like a sister to me
Amore, facciamo un giro insieme? = Love, shall we go for a walk together?
Ti porto il caffè, tesoro = I’ll bring you the coffee, darling
Ti amo davvero, con tutto il cuore = I really love you, with all my heart
Mi manchi tanto! Quando ci vediamo? = I miss you so much, when can we see each other?
Ciao gioia, vuoi un gelato? = Hello joy, do you want an ice-cream?
Anch’io ti amo tanto = I love you too
Ciao amore, come stai? = Hello love, how are you?
Tesoro, ti adoro! = Darling, I love you
Flashcards: I Love You in Italian
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
