I love you in Italian

The most straightforward way to express romantic love in Italian is: ti amo.

Ti amo directly translates to "I love you" in Italian. Generally, it’s not commonly used with family or friends, though you might hear it occasionally in highly emotional contexts.

Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash

So, what do we say to friends and family? Ti voglio bene ("I care about you" or "I’m fond of you"). This phrase is also great for tiptoeing into the early stages of a romantic relationship.

In text messages, ti voglio bene is often abbreviated as TVB, sometimes with the addition of tanto ("a lot"): Ti voglio tanto bene (I care about you a lot) or TVTB.

If addressing more than one person, the ti direct object pronoun gets replaced by vi, as in Vi voglio bene (I care about you all.)

Other expressions of love include:

• Mi piaci / Mi piaci tanto
  ("I like you / I like you a lot." Romantic.)

• Sono innamorato/a di te
  ("I am in love with you." Said by a male / by a female.)

• Mi sono innamorato/a di te
  ("I fell in love with you." Said by a male / by a female.)

• Ti adoro
  ("I adore you." Less common than ti amo, for sure.)

• Sono pazzo/a di te
  ("I’m crazy about you." Said by a male / by a female.)

• Sei la mia vita
  ("You’re my life.")

I hope you get to use many of these, as love is a remarkable force that makes life worth living. To my subscribers, vi voglio bene. 💖