85 terms of endearment and ways to say I love you in Italian
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We all know that love breaks all barriers, including communication ones – it’s a universal language. However, if you have an Italian partner or are just learning this beautiful language and want to find out how to say I love you in Italian, you’ve come to the right place.
French usually takes first place on the list of the most romantic languages amongst the Romance languages and even overall. But believe me, Italian is a serious contender to the throne, with a great richness in expressing love and affection.
We've created a beautiful Italian Essentials e-book to help you learn some basic Italian words and phrases. Download it here! Or, you can celebrate love everyday and download our free desktop wallpaper.
Here are some reasons to learn how to say I love you in Italian.
1. Surprise your Italian partner or friends
If you have an Italian partner, or you’re just planning a trip to Italy with your better half, telling them you love them in Italian would be such a nice surprise. And so romantic!
Of course, we’ll not only be talking about romantic love, after reading this article you’ll also be able to surprise your friends by telling them how much you value their presence in your life.
2. To talk about Italian food!
Who doesn’t love Italian food? By learning vocab on love in Italian, you’ll also master the art of expressing your appreciation for the chef’s skills.
If you’re planning to go to Italy, or you’ve just been invited for dinner by an Italian friend, saying how much you love the tagliolini is a great skill to have.
3. It’s fun, new vocab!
As we always say, learning a foreign language should always be approached as a pleasure, not a duty!
So go on and think about ways you could use this love-related vocab in your daily life. You could tell the barista in your local coffee shop they’re the best at making espresso, or compliment an Italian colleague on their outfit.
And of course, if you’re a language learner expanding your vocab is always a good idea, no matter what you’re learning Italian for.
In the tables below, you’ll not only find romantic phrases to express love, and even I like you in Italian, but you’ll also find a column with the phonetic transcription of these expressions so that you can practice your pronunciation while reading.
We’ve also chosen some Italian songs about love to share with your fellow learners, and explained the most common Italian sayings related to love.
Let’s get started!
How to say I love you in Italian
To say I love you in Italian, we use the verb amare (to love). Let’s explore how to conjugate this verb:
| Pronoun | Verb: Amare | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| io | amo | ah-moh |
| tu | ami | ah-mee |
| lui / lei | ama | ah-mah |
| noi | amiamo | ah-myah-moh |
| voi | amate | ah-mah-teh |
| loro | amano | ah-mah-noh |
So, the most common way of saying “I love you” in Italian is ti amo. “TI” here is a direct object pronoun. If you want to change the object of your love, then you simply need to change the object pronoun.
- Io ti amo. (I love you.)
- Io mi amo. (I love me.)
- Io lo/la amo. (I love him/ her), etc.
You can also put the object of your love after the verb. In this case, you’re emphasizing who or what you love.
- Io amo te. (I love you.)
- Io amo la pizza. (I love pizza.)
- Io amo i film francesi. (I love French movies.), etc.
To a boyfriend, girlfriend or romantic love
Now that we know how the main verb for “love” works, let’s find out how to express romantic love in Italian. Here are some of the most common ways to say I love you to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
We’ve also added some extra expressions you might want to use to express your love.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I love you | Ti amo | Tee ah-moh |
| I love you too | Anch’io ti amo | Ahn-kee-oh tee ah-moh |
| I love you so much | Ti amo così tanto | Tee ah-moh coh-see taan-toh |
| I love you more | Io ti amo di più | Ee-oh tee ah-moh dee pyooh |
| I love you most | Ti amo troppo | Tee ah-moh troh-poh |
| I love you a lot | Ti amo tanto | Tee ah-moh taan-toh |
| I love you forever | Ti amerò per sempre | Tee ah-meh-roh pehr sem-preh |
| I love you very much | Ti amo tantissimo | Tee ah-moh taan-teess-see-moh |
| I love you with all my heart | Ti amo con tutto il cuore | Tee ah-moh con toot-toh eel kwoh-reh |
| I love you, my love | Ti amo, amore | Tee ah-moh ah-moh-reh |
| I love you handsome | Ti amo, bellissimo | Tee ah-moh bell-leess-see-moh |
| I love you beautiful | Ti amo, bellissima | Tee ah-moh bell-leess-see-mah |
| I love you more than life itself | Ti amo più della mia vita | Tee ah-moh pyooh dell-lah mee-ah vee-tah |
| I love you more than anything | Ti amo più di qualsiasi cosa | Tee ah-moh pyooh dee kwal-see-ah-see coh-zah |
| I still love you | Ti amo ancora | Tee ah-moh ahn-koh-rah |
| I think I love you | Penso di amarti | Penn-soh dee ah-maar-tee |
| I’m crazy about you | Sono pazzo/a di te | Soh-no pah-tso/tsa dee teh |
| I’m head over heels for you | Sono follemente innamorato/a di te | Soh-noh foll-leh-mehn-te een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh |
| I adore you | Ti adoro | Tee ah-doh-roh |
| I’ve fallen for you | Mi sono innamorata/o di te | Mee soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh |
| I’m yours | Sono tuo/a | Soh-noh too-oh/ah |
| Love of my life | Amore della mia vita | Ah-moh-reh dell-lah mee-ah vee-tah |
| I miss you | Mi manchi | Mee mahn-kee |
| I always think of you | Ti penso sempre | Tee penn-soh sehm-preh |
| I can’t wait to see you | Ho voglia di vederti | Oh voh-lyah dee veh-dehr-tee |
| You’re in my thoughts | Sei nei miei pensieri | Seh-ee nehy myeh-ee penn-syeh-ree |
| I fell in love with you | Mi sono innamorato/a di te | Mee soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh |
| I am in love with you | Sono innamorato/a di te | Soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh |
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Terms of endearment in Italian
Here’s a list of endearing terms you can use with your Italian partner from the most romantic to some funny options!
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| My love | Amore (mio) | Ah-moh-reh mee-oh |
| My treasure | Tesoro (mio) | Teh-zoh-roh mee-oh |
| Dear | Caro/a | cah-roh/rah |
| Baby | Baby | beh-bee |
| Little love | Amorino | ah-moh-ree-noh |
| Little potato | Patatino/a | pah-tah-te-noh |
| Beautiful | Bellissimo/a | bell-lee-see-moh/mah |
| Meatball | Polpetta | poll-pet-tah |
| Sugar | Zuccherino | dzoo-keh-ree-noh |
| Doll | Bambola | bahm-boh-lah |
| Puppy | Cucciolo/a | cooch-choh-loh |
If these terms of endearment in Italian tickle your fancy, you’re probably also going to enjoy our article which features some fun vocabulary words for Italian slang for dating, here.
To a friend, family member or platonic love
Of course, love is not just about romantic relationships. To express love to a family member, pet animal or close friend we have a special expression in Italian: “ti voglio bene” (literally, I want you well).
In this case, “Ti” is an indirect object pronoun.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I love you mom | Ti voglio bene, mamma | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, mam-mah |
| I love you dad | Ti voglio bene, papà | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, pah-pàh |
| I love you grandma | Ti voglio bene, nonna | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, nohn-nah |
| I love you grandpa | Ti voglio bene nonno | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, nohn-noh |
| I love you all | Vi voglio bene | Vee vo-lyo beh-ne |
| I love you guys | Vi voglio bene, ragazzi | Vee vo-lyo beh-ne, rah-gah-tsee |
| I love you best friend | Ti voglio bene, amico/a mio/a | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, ah-mee-coh/cah mee-oh/ah |
| I love you as a friend | Ti voglio bene come amico/a | Tee vo-lyo beh-ne coh-meh ah-mee-coh/cah |
| I love you a lot | Ti voglio un mondo di bene | Tee vo-lyo oon mon-doh dee beh-ne |
| You’re important to me | Sei importante per me | Seh-ee eem-porr-tahn-th pehr meh |
Of course, you can also tell your family members and pets ti amo if you’re feeling extra emotional and want to express all your love!
How to say I like you in Italian
What if you have a friend, who is not quite just a friend, and you’d like to be a bit flirty, and tell them you like them?
Here are some useful expressions to say I like you in Italian.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I like you | Mi piaci | Mee pyah-chee |
| I like you a lot | Mi piaci molto | Mee pyah-chee moll-toh |
| I really like you | Mi piaci davvero | Mee pyah-chee dahv-veh-roh |
| I like you too | Anche tu mi piaci | Ahn-keh too mee pyah-chee |
| I want to see you | Ho voglia di vederti | Oh voh-llya dee veh-derr-tee |
| I like everything about you | Mi piace tutto di te | Mee pyah-che toot-toh dee teh |
| Will you go out with me? | Vuoi uscire con me? | Voo-oh-ee ooh-shee-reh conn meh |
| Can I kiss you? | Posso baciarti? | Poss-soh bah-charr-tee |
| I would like to kiss you. | Vorrei baciarti. | Vohr-reh-ee bah-charr-tee |
| You’re beautiful | Sei bellissimo/a | Seh-ee bell-lee-see-moh/mah |
| I would like to know you more | Vorrei conoscerti meglio | Vohr-reh-ee coh-noh-sherr-tee meh-llyoh |
| I admire you | Ti ammiro | Tee ahm-mee-roh |
| You’re a special person | Sei una persona speciale | Seh-ee ooh-nah pehrr-soh-nah speh-cha-leh |
| You’re the man / woman of my dreams | Sei l’uomo/ la donna dei miei sogni | Seh-ee loo-oh-moh/lah donn-nah deh-ee myeh-ee soh-ñee |
| Only you understand me | Solo tu mi capisci | Soh-loh too mee cah-pee-shee |
| I have a crush on you | Ho una cotta per te | Oh oo-nah cot-tah pehrr teh |
| I’d do anything for you | Farei di tutto per te | Fah-reh-ee dee toot-toh pehrr teh |
| I don’t want to lose you | Non voglio perderti | Non voh-llyo pehrr-derr-tee |
| Don’t forget about me | Non dimenticarti di me | Non dee-men-tee-cahr-tee dee meh |
| You make me dream | Mi fai sognare | Mee fah-ee so-ñah-reh |
You might also need to learn how to say hi in Italian in a few different ways, if you’re breaking the ice with a new friend.
Will you marry me in Italian
If you’ve found your soulmate, and all you need is to make sure he or she will be with you forever, here are some great Italian expressions.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Will you marry me? | Mi vuoi sposare? | Mee voo-oh-ee spoh-zah-reh |
| I want to spend my life with you | Voglio passare la mia vita con te | Voh-llyo pass-sah-reh lah mee-ah vee-tah con teh |
| You’re my soulmate | Sei la mia anima gemella | Seh-ee lah mee-ah ah-nee-mah jeh-mell-lah |
| Will you stay with me forever? | Vuoi stare con me per sempre? | Voo-oh-ee stah-reh con meh pehrr sehm-preh |
| Without you, life has no meaning | Senza di te, la mia vita non ha senso | Sehn-tsa dee teh lah mee-ah vee-tah non ah senn-soh |
| My heart is yours | Il mio cuore è tuo | Eel mee-oh kwoh-reh eh too-oh |
| You’re my sweet half | Sei la mia dolce metà | Seh-ee lah mee-ah doll-che meh-tàh |
| You’re the man/woman of my life | Sei l’uomo/ la donna dell mia vita | Seh-ee loo-oh-moh dell-ah mee-ah vee-tah |
| I will love you forever | Ti amerò per sempre | Tee ah-meh-roh pehrr sehm-preh |
Italian love songs
Claudio Baglioni - Questo Piccolo Grande Amore
Listen to the 70’s classic “Questo piccolo grande amore” by Claudio Baglioni if you’re in a melancholic/romantic mood. It won’t disappoint you!
Giorgia - Come Saprei
For a 90s sound, listen to Giorgia’s “Come saprei”.
Franco Battiato - La Cura
Battiato’s “La cura” is not only a great Italian classic, it is also THE love song!
Michele Bravi - Mantieni il bacio
If you want a more recent song, here’s Michele Bravi, a talented young Italian artist.
Romantic sayings and proverbs in Italian
Here’s some popular Italian wisdom on love for you. Is it different from your country?
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| For love’s pain, you suffer but do not die. | Delle pene d’amore, si tribola e non si muore. |
| Love is not without bitterness. | Amore non è senza amaro. |
| Love isn’t beautiful if there are no little arguments. | L’amore non è bello se non è litigarello. |
| Unlucky at gambling, lucky in love. | Sfortunato al gioco, fortunato in amore. |
| Old love does not rust. | Amor vecchio non fa ruggine. |
| Love is blind. | L’amore è cieco. |
Spread the love!
Now you know how to express affection and love for the people and beings around you in Italian.
All you have to do now is go out and spread the love in Italian... or any language, for that matter!
And if you loved this Italian blog vocabulary article? Check out more of our fun and free resources on our learning Italian blog here.
