te amo
[ˈteː ˈa.moː]singular
In Latin, 'i love you' is expressed as te amo. Wiktionary also lists amo te and ego amo te.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)
Ways to say it
| 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 |
This phrase is used as an affirmation of romantic feeling. The word order can be changed to amo te without changing the fundamental meaning.
What does it mean word for word?
The word amo means 'I love', with the subject 'I' contained within the verb's ending.
Which one should you use?
The forms differ based on how many people you are addressing. Use te amo when speaking to one person and vos amo when speaking to more than one person. You may also use amo te or ego amo te as variations.
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun ego (meaning 'I') is optional in the phrase ego amo te because the verb ending in amo already indicates that the subject is 'I'.
Did you know?
- Ancient Romans used different verbs for love depending on the intensity of the feeling, ranging from amo for passion to diligere for a steady, esteemed love.
- The word amo may actually share an ancient ancestor with the concept of 'taking hold of' or 'grasping', suggesting that love was once viewed as a physical act of seizing.
Examples in context
- Te amo, mi angele.I love you, my angel.Tatoeba #1010424 by alexmarcelo, translation #587159 by Manfredo
- Toto pectore te amo.I love you with all my heart.Tatoeba #13958912 by Vortarulo, translation #68788 by CK
- Te amo et semper amabo.I love you and always will love you.Tatoeba #5106655 by alexmarcelo, translation #5154822 by CarpeLanam
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is walking through a garden.
- LuciusJulia, te amo.Julia, I love you.
- JuliaEt ego te amo, Luci.And I love you, Lucius.
- LuciusTu es vita mea.You are my life.
- JuliaTu quoque es vita mea.You are my life too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “i love you” translations and entries te amo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (amo, te, ego, vos) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries amo, ego, te, vos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
