te amo
[ˈteː ˈa.moː]singular
In Latin, 'I love you' is said 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.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase te amo is composed of the pronoun te (you) and the first-person singular verb amo (I love).
Which one should you use?
While te amo is the standard form, you may also see amo te, which carries the same basic meaning because Latin word order is flexible. If you are addressing more than one person, use vos amo to mean 'I love you all'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Latin, the subject 'I' is often omitted because the verb ending '-o' in amo already indicates that the subject is the first-person singular. You can include the pronoun ego to form ego amo te, but doing so adds emphasis to the subject to mean 'It is I who love you'.
Did you know?
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 quiet garden at sunset where a couple is spending time together.
- ClaudiaLuci, te amo.Lucius, I love you.
- LuciusEt ego te amo, Claudia.And I love you, Claudia.
- ClaudiaSemper te amabo.I will love you always.
- LuciusMea vita, te amo.My life, I love you.
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.
