How to Say “I Love You” in Latin

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te amo
[ˈteː ˈa.moː]singular
The English phrase "I love you" is translated into Latin as te amo. Wiktionary also lists amo te and ego amo te.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)

Ways to say it

“I love you” in Latin
Latin IPA Note
te amo [ˈteː ˈa.moː] (Classical Latin, narrow)
[ˈtɛː ˈaː.mo] (narrow)		 singular
amo te [ˈa.moː ˈteː] (Classical Latin, word by word, narrow)
ego amo te [ˈɛ.ɡoː ˈa.moː ˈteː] (Classical Latin, word by word, narrow)
vos amo [ˈwoːs ˈa.moː] (Classical Latin, word by word, narrow) plural

These phrases are used to affirm romantic feelings.

What does it mean word for word?

In the verb amo, the subject "I" is already contained within the verb ending, so a separate word for "I" is not strictly necessary.

Which one should you use?

You can use te amo to address one person, or vos amo if you are addressing more than one person. You may also use amo te instead of te amo, as swapping the word order between the object te and the verb amo does not change the fundamental meaning.

How does it change in a sentence?

The form te amo uses the singular pronoun te to refer to a single person. If you want to add emphasis to the fact that it is specifically you who is doing the loving, you can use the form ego amo te to include the explicit pronoun ego.

Did you know?

  • The Latin verb amo may be related to the Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to take hold of', suggesting that love is conceptually linked to grasping or holding something.
  • While te amo is romantic, the root amo is also used in Latin to describe a fondness for things, such as a love of learning.

Examples in context

Example conversation

A quiet evening in a Roman garden.

  1. Aurelia

    Marce, te amo.
    Marcus, I love you.
  2. Marcus

    Et ego te amo, Aurelia.
    And I love you, Aurelia.
  3. Aurelia

    Semper te amabo.
    I will love you always.
  4. Marcus

    Mea vita, te amo.
    My life, I love you.

Sources

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Leonard Joseph
Leonard JosephHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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