volim te
Latin
In Croatian, 'I love you' is expressed as volim te. Wiktionary also lists ja te volim.
Meaning: affirmation of romantic feeling (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Croatian | Note |
|---|---|
| volim te | Latin |
| ja te volim | Latin |
The phrase is an affirmation of romantic feeling. The most common and straightforward way to express this informally is volim te. You can also say Volim te najviše na svijetu to mean 'I love you the most in the world'. In a romantic context between partners, the phrase Ljubim te is used to mean 'I kiss you'.
Which one should you use?
While volim te is the standard way to say 'I love you', using ja te volim places extra emphasis on the subject 'I'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'I love you' to more than one person, or to use the formal 'you', change the pronoun 'te' to 'vas'.
Did you know?
- In Croatia, the phrase volim te is often considered a heavy commitment and is typically reserved for established relationships rather than early dating.
- Croatian has a separate word for 'longing' or 'yearning' called čežnja, which describes a specific type of love-sickness that volim te cannot fully capture.
- The word ja in the phrase ja te volim shares a common ancestor with the English word 'I', stemming from the same Proto-Indo-European root.
Examples in context
- Volim te.I love you.Tatoeba #567186 by Shishir, translation #1434 by awael58
- Volim te!I love you!Tatoeba #2390581 by Ricardo14, translation #2365642 by CE
- Gospodine Petrović, volim Vas iznad svega.Mr. Petrović, I love you above all.
- Draga Petra, volim te više nego riječi mogu opisati.Dear Petra, I love you more than words can describe.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is having a quiet evening at home.
- MarkoBaš si ljubazna prema meni.You are so kind to me.
- AnaHvala ti, Marko.Thank you, Marko.
- MarkoVolim te, Ana.I love you, Ana.
- AnaI ja tebe volim.And I love you too.
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.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
