volim te
Latin
The English phrase "I love you" is expressed in Bosnian as volim te. Wiktionary also lists ja te volim.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Bosnian | Note |
|---|---|
| volim te | Latin |
| ja te volim | Latin |
This phrase is used as an affirmation of romantic feeling.
What does it mean word for word?
In the phrase volim te, volim is the first-person singular form of the verb voljeti (to love) and te is the short form of the pronoun tebe (you).
Which one should you use?
While volim te is the standard way to say "I love you", the form ja te volim uses the explicit subject pronoun ja (I) to add emphasis to the person doing the loving.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Bosnian, the subject pronoun ja (I) is typically omitted in the phrase volim te because the verb ending -im already indicates that the subject is "I".
Did you know?
- The word voljeti is used for romantic love, but for liking a thing or a person in a friendly way, Bosnians use the verb svidjeti se, which literally means 'to be pleasing to'.
- The pronoun ja is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂, making it a distant relative of the English word 'I'.
- Because the verb ending '-im' encodes the person, saying ja te volim can sound almost confrontational or overly dramatic in a casual setting.
Examples in context
- Ti si najbolja stvar koja mi se ikada dogodila. Volim te.You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you.
- Volim te najviše na svijetu.I love you most in the world.
Example conversation
Tarik and Lejla are saying goodbye for the evening.
- TarikLaku noć, Lejla.Good night, Lejla.
- LejlaLaku noć i ti.Good night to you too.
- TarikVolim te.I love you.
- LejlaI ja tebe volim, Tarike.I love you too, Tarik.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries ja te volim, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ja, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
