Ways to say it
| Hungarian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (én) szeretlek téged | [ˈeːn ˈsɛrɛtlɛk ˈteːɡɛd] (word by word, narrow) | |
| (én) szeretem önt/magát | formal |
This phrase is used as an affirmation of romantic feeling.
Which one should you use?
The form szeretlek téged is used for a single person you are close to, such as a romantic partner or a family member. If you want to say "I love you" to more than one person, you must change the object suffix to titeket to form szeretlek titeket.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form (én) szeretem önt/magát is the formal version of this expression. For an informal way to say "I love you", you can use Szeretlek.
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun én (I) is often omitted in the phrase because the verb conjugation szeretlek already indicates that the subject is "I". The single word szeretlek combines the verb szeret (to love) with the first-person singular subject and second-person singular object suffixes. The word téged is the accusative case of te (you), used because the person being loved is the direct object of the verb.
Did you know?
- Hungarian has a separate word imádlak for 'I adore you', which is used when szeretlek feels too common or not passionate enough for a deep romantic obsession.
- Using the formal szeretem önt to a romantic partner would be a social blunder, as it creates a linguistic distance that sounds cold or even sarcastic.
- In Hungarian, the verb szeret can also mean 'to like' or 'to want' in certain contexts, meaning you must rely on tone and context to distinguish between 'I like you' and 'I love you'.
Example sentences for Hungarian are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (én, szeretlek, téged) and can differ in connected speech.
