What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ben (I), de (also/too), seni (you [accusative]) and seviyorum (I am loving).
Which one should you use?
The emphasis of the sentence changes depending on where the particle de is placed. Ben de seni seviyorum emphasizes the subject (I also love you), while moving the particle after the object to say seni de seviyorum changes the emphasis to the object (I love you, too).
How does it change in a sentence?
To respond to more than one person or to use a formal tone, change seni to sizi to form sizi de seviyorum (I love you [plural/formal] too).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ben de seni sevijoɾum/. Use these English sounds for guidance: [b] as in about, [n] as in not, [s] as in send, [i] as in creek, [v] as in vase, [j] as in yes, [ɾ] as in the American English sound in atom, [u] as in cool and [m] as in much.
Did you know?
- The word ben used for 'I' is a homonym for the Turkish word for 'mole' or 'birthmark'.
- Turkish uses a system of 'vowel harmony' where the vowels in a word must be compatible. This is why the particle de in ben de seni seviyorum is used instead of da, as it must match the preceding vowel in ben.
- Turkish is an agglutinative language, meaning it builds complex meanings by adding suffixes to a root. In seviyorum, the root sev means 'love', and the suffixes indicate both the present continuous tense and the first person singular subject.
Examples in context
- Ben de seni seviyorum.I love you, too.This sentence shows a basic way to say "I love you, too."Tatoeba #3883093 by duran, translation #628763 by meloncurtains
- Ben de seni seviyorum, Tom.I love you, too, Tom.This sentence demonstrates how to add a name to the phraseTatoeba #4180026 by duran, translation #3371185 by CK
- "Seni seviyorum." "Ben de seni seviyorum.""I love you." "I love you, too."This example shows the phrase used in a brief dialogue between two people.Tatoeba #3381695 by deyta, translation #1655606 by gleki
- Seni de seviyorum.I love you too
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zeynep and Can are saying goodbye before a long trip.
- ZeynepSeni çok seviyorum Can.I love you so much, Can.
- CanBen de seni seviyorum Zeynep.I love you too, Zeynep.
- ZeynepKendine çok iyi bak.Take good care of yourself.
- CanSen de öyle yap.You do the same.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ben, de, seni, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
