What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of eu (I), te (you/to you), amo (love) and mais (more).
Which one should you use?
For example, Eu amo você ainda mais means "I love you even more" and O meu amor por você é ainda maior means "My love for you is even greater". To express that you love someone more than a specific thing or person, you can use the informal variations Eu te amo mais que tudo (I love you more than anything) or Eu te amo mais do que ontem (I love you more than yesterday). Another informal way to say "I love you more than life" is Te amo mais que a vida.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
eu te amo mais is considered both informal and standard. In Brazil, using te as the object pronoun is standard for most informal and semi-formal speech. However, in very formal European Portuguese, one might use eu amo-te mais.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Brazil, it is common to say Eu te amo mais do que tudo nesse mundo to mean "I love you more than anything in this world". In Portugal, the phrase Amo-te ainda mais is used to mean "I love you even more".
How does it change in a sentence?
When comparing your love to something else, it is common to add do que after mais to mean "more than", creating the structure eu te amo mais do que…
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈew tʃi ˈɐ̃.mu ˈmajs/. The first of the four syllables is stressed.
Did you know?
- The word eu is a doublet of the English word 'ego'. Both share a common ancestor in the Classical Latin word egō̆.
- In Brazil, you can often drop the eu entirely and just say Te amo mais to sound more natural and affectionate.
- In Brazil, the pronoun te is used in everyday conversation even when the speaker uses the pronoun você for 'you' in other parts of the sentence.
Examples in context
- Eu te amo mais do que a vida.I love you more than life itself.This sentence is useful for showing an extreme degree of love by comparing it to life itself using eu te amo mais.Tatoeba #8083095 by Ricardo14, translation #5320303 by Hybrid
- Eu te amo mais que tudo no mundo.I love you more than anything in the world.This sentence is useful for expressing that your love exceeds everything in the world using eu te amo mais.Tatoeba #2717081 by Ricardo14, translation #2712645 by CK
- Eu te amo mais que qualquer coisa.I love you more than anything.This sentence is useful for stating that your love is greater than any other thing using eu te amo mais.Tatoeba #1656670 by alexmarcelo, translation #1556799 by CK
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is having a sweet moment on the sofa.
- BeatrizEu te amo tanto, Lucas.I love you so much, Lucas.
- LucasEu te amo mais, Beatriz.I love you more, Beatriz.
- BeatrizImpossível, eu te amo mais!Impossible, I love you more!
- LucasNão, eu te amo mais.No, I love you more.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (eu, te, amo, mais) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries amo, eu, mais, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
