85 terms of endearment and ways to say I love you in Italian

We all know that love breaks all barriers, including communication ones – it’s a universal language. However, if you have an Italian partner or are just learning this beautiful language and want to find out how to say I love you in Italian, you’ve come to the right place.

French usually takes first place on the list of the most romantic languages amongst the Romance languages and even overall. But believe me, Italian is a serious contender to the throne, with a great richness in expressing love and affection.

Here are some reasons to learn how to say I love you in Italian.

Couple sharing pizza is a way to say I love you in Italian.

1. Surprise your Italian partner or friends

If you have an Italian partner, or you’re just planning a trip to Italy with your better half, telling them you love them in Italian would be such a nice surprise. And so romantic!

Of course, we’ll not only be talking about romantic love, after reading this article you’ll also be able to surprise your friends by telling them how much you value their presence in your life.

2. To talk about Italian food!

Who doesn’t love Italian food? By learning vocab on love in Italian, you’ll also master the art of expressing your appreciation for the chef’s skills.

If you’re planning to go to Italy, or you’ve just been invited for dinner by an Italian friend, saying how much you love the tagliolini is a great skill to have.

3. It’s fun, new vocab!

As we always say, learning a foreign language should always be approached as a pleasure, not a duty!

So go on and think about ways you could use this love-related vocab in your daily life. You could tell the barista in your local coffee shop they’re the best at making espresso, or compliment an Italian colleague on their outfit.

And of course, if you’re a language learner expanding your vocab is always a good idea, no matter what you’re learning Italian for.

In the tables below, you’ll not only find romantic phrases to express love, and even I like you in Italian, but you’ll also find a column with the phonetic transcription of these expressions so that you can practice your pronunciation while reading.

We’ve also chosen some Italian songs about love to share with your fellow learners, and explained the most common Italian sayings related to love.

Let’s get started!

How to say I love you in Italian

To say I love you in Italian, we use the verb amare (to love). Let’s explore how to conjugate this verb:

Pronoun Verb: Amare Pronunciation
io amo ah-moh
tu ami ah-mee
lui / lei ama ah-mah
noi amiamo ah-myah-moh
voi amate ah-mah-teh
loro amano ah-mah-noh

So, the most common way of saying “I love you” in Italian is ti amo. “TI” here is a direct object pronoun. If you want to change the object of your love, then you simply need to change the object pronoun.

  • Io ti amo. (I love you.)
  • Io mi amo. (I love me.)
  • Io lo/la amo. (I love him/ her), etc.

You can also put the object of your love after the verb. In this case, you’re emphasizing who or what you love.

  • Io amo te. (I love you.)
  • Io amo la pizza. (I love pizza.)
  • Io amo i film francesi. (I love French movies.), etc.

To a boyfriend, girlfriend or romantic love

Young couple make their romance official by saying I love you in Italian and sharing their photo on social media.

Now that we know how the main verb for “love” works, let’s find out how to express romantic love in Italian. Here are some of the most common ways to say I love you to a boyfriend or girlfriend.

We’ve also added some extra expressions you might want to use to express your love.

English Italian Pronunciation
I love you Ti amo Tee ah-moh
I love you too Anch’io ti amo Ahn-kee-oh tee ah-moh
I love you so much Ti amo così tanto Tee ah-moh coh-see taan-toh
I love you more Io ti amo di più Ee-oh tee ah-moh dee pyooh
I love you most Ti amo troppo Tee ah-moh troh-poh
I love you a lot Ti amo tanto Tee ah-moh taan-toh
I love you forever Ti amerò per sempre Tee ah-meh-roh pehr sem-preh
I love you very much Ti amo tantissimo Tee ah-moh taan-teess-see-moh
I love you with all my heart Ti amo con tutto il cuore Tee ah-moh con toot-toh eel kwoh-reh
I love you, my love Ti amo, amore Tee ah-moh ah-moh-reh
I love you handsome Ti amo, bellissimo Tee ah-moh bell-leess-see-moh
I love you beautiful Ti amo, bellissima Tee ah-moh bell-leess-see-mah
I love you more than life itself Ti amo più della mia vita Tee ah-moh pyooh dell-lah mee-ah vee-tah
I love you more than anything Ti amo più di qualsiasi cosa Tee ah-moh pyooh dee kwal-see-ah-see coh-zah
I still love you Ti amo ancora Tee ah-moh ahn-koh-rah
I think I love you Penso di amarti Penn-soh dee ah-maar-tee
I’m crazy about you Sono pazzo/a di te Soh-no pah-tso/tsa dee teh
I’m head over heels for you Sono follemente innamorato/a di te Soh-noh foll-leh-mehn-te een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh
I adore you Ti adoro Tee ah-doh-roh
I’ve fallen for you Mi sono innamorata/o di te Mee soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh
I’m yours Sono tuo/a Soh-noh too-oh/ah
Love of my life Amore della mia vita Ah-moh-reh dell-lah mee-ah vee-tah
I miss you Mi manchi Mee mahn-kee
I always think of you Ti penso sempre Tee penn-soh sehm-preh
I can’t wait to see you Ho voglia di vederti Oh voh-lyah dee veh-dehr-tee
You’re in my thoughts Sei nei miei pensieri Seh-ee nehy myeh-ee penn-syeh-ree
I fell in love with you Mi sono innamorato/a di te Mee soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh
I am in love with you Sono innamorato/a di te Soh-no een-nah-moh-rah-toh/tah dee teh

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Terms of endearment in Italian

Here’s a list of endearing terms you can use with your Italian partner from the most romantic to some funny options!

English Italian Pronunciation
My love Amore (mio) Ah-moh-reh mee-oh
My treasure Tesoro (mio) Teh-zoh-roh mee-oh
Dear Caro/a cah-roh/rah
Baby Baby beh-bee
Little love Amorino ah-moh-ree-noh
Little potato Patatino/a pah-tah-te-noh
Beautiful Bellissimo/a bell-lee-see-moh/mah
Meatball Polpetta poll-pet-tah
Sugar Zuccherino dzoo-keh-ree-noh
Doll Bambola bahm-boh-lah
Puppy Cucciolo/a cooch-choh-loh

If these terms of endearment in Italian tickle your fancy, you’re probably also going to enjoy our article which features some fun vocabulary words for Italian slang for dating, here.

To a friend, family member or platonic love

Mother kisses her daughter to say I love you in Italian.

Of course, love is not just about romantic relationships. To express love to a family member, pet animal or close friend we have a special expression in Italian: “ti voglio bene” (literally, I want you well).

In this case, “Ti” is an indirect object pronoun.

English Italian Pronunciation
I love you mom Ti voglio bene, mamma Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, mam-mah
I love you dad Ti voglio bene, papà Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, pah-pàh
I love you grandma Ti voglio bene, nonna Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, nohn-nah
I love you grandpa Ti voglio bene nonno Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, nohn-noh
I love you all Vi voglio bene Vee vo-lyo beh-ne
I love you guys Vi voglio bene, ragazzi Vee vo-lyo beh-ne, rah-gah-tsee
I love you best friend Ti voglio bene, amico/a mio/a Tee vo-lyo beh-ne, ah-mee-coh/cah mee-oh/ah
I love you as a friend Ti voglio bene come amico/a Tee vo-lyo beh-ne coh-meh ah-mee-coh/cah
I love you a lot Ti voglio un mondo di bene Tee vo-lyo oon mon-doh dee beh-ne
You’re important to me Sei importante per me Seh-ee eem-porr-tahn-th pehr meh

Of course, you can also tell your family members and pets ti amo if you’re feeling extra emotional and want to express all your love!

How to say I like you in Italian

What if you have a friend, who is not quite just a friend, and you’d like to be a bit flirty, and tell them you like them?

Here are some useful expressions to say I like you in Italian.

English Italian Pronunciation
I like you Mi piaci Mee pyah-chee
I like you a lot Mi piaci molto Mee pyah-chee moll-toh
I really like you Mi piaci davvero Mee pyah-chee dahv-veh-roh
I like you too Anche tu mi piaci Ahn-keh too mee pyah-chee
I want to see you Ho voglia di vederti Oh voh-llya dee veh-derr-tee
I like everything about you Mi piace tutto di te Mee pyah-che toot-toh dee teh
Will you go out with me? Vuoi uscire con me? Voo-oh-ee ooh-shee-reh conn meh
Can I kiss you? Posso baciarti? Poss-soh bah-charr-tee
I would like to kiss you. Vorrei baciarti. Vohr-reh-ee bah-charr-tee
You’re beautiful Sei bellissimo/a Seh-ee bell-lee-see-moh/mah
I would like to know you more Vorrei conoscerti meglio Vohr-reh-ee coh-noh-sherr-tee meh-llyoh
I admire you Ti ammiro Tee ahm-mee-roh
You’re a special person Sei una persona speciale Seh-ee ooh-nah pehrr-soh-nah speh-cha-leh
You’re the man / woman of my dreams Sei l’uomo/ la donna dei miei sogni Seh-ee loo-oh-moh/lah donn-nah deh-ee myeh-ee soh-ñee
Only you understand me Solo tu mi capisci Soh-loh too mee cah-pee-shee
I have a crush on you Ho una cotta per te Oh oo-nah cot-tah pehrr teh
I’d do anything for you Farei di tutto per te Fah-reh-ee dee toot-toh pehrr teh
I don’t want to lose you Non voglio perderti Non voh-llyo pehrr-derr-tee
Don’t forget about me Non dimenticarti di me Non dee-men-tee-cahr-tee dee meh
You make me dream Mi fai sognare Mee fah-ee so-ñah-reh

You might also need to learn how to say hi in Italian in a few different ways, if you’re breaking the ice with a new friend.

Will you marry me in Italian

Couple get engaged and say I love you forever in Italian.

If you’ve found your soulmate, and all you need is to make sure he or she will be with you forever, here are some great Italian expressions.

English Italian Pronunciation
Will you marry me? Mi vuoi sposare? Mee voo-oh-ee spoh-zah-reh
I want to spend my life with you Voglio passare la mia vita con te Voh-llyo pass-sah-reh lah mee-ah vee-tah con teh
You’re my soulmate Sei la mia anima gemella Seh-ee lah mee-ah ah-nee-mah jeh-mell-lah
Will you stay with me forever? Vuoi stare con me per sempre? Voo-oh-ee stah-reh con meh pehrr sehm-preh
Without you, life has no meaning Senza di te, la mia vita non ha senso Sehn-tsa dee teh lah mee-ah vee-tah non ah senn-soh
My heart is yours Il mio cuore è tuo Eel mee-oh kwoh-reh eh too-oh
You’re my sweet half Sei la mia dolce metà Seh-ee lah mee-ah doll-che meh-tàh
You’re the man/woman of my life Sei l’uomo/ la donna dell mia vita Seh-ee loo-oh-moh dell-ah mee-ah vee-tah
I will love you forever Ti amerò per sempre Tee ah-meh-roh pehrr sehm-preh

Italian love songs

Claudio Baglioni - Questo Piccolo Grande Amore

Listen to the 70’s classic “Questo piccolo grande amore” by Claudio Baglioni if you’re in a melancholic/romantic mood. It won’t disappoint you!

Giorgia - Come Saprei

For a 90s sound, listen to Giorgia’s “Come saprei”.

Franco Battiato - La Cura

Battiato’s “La cura is not only a great Italian classic, it is also THE love song!

Michele Bravi - Mantieni il bacio

If you want a more recent song, here’s Michele Bravi, a talented young Italian artist.

Romantic sayings and proverbs in Italian

Here’s some popular Italian wisdom on love for you. Is it different from your country?

English Italian
For love’s pain, you suffer but do not die. Delle pene d’amore, si tribola e non si muore.
Love is not without bitterness. Amore non è senza amaro.
Love isn’t beautiful if there are no little arguments. L’amore non è bello se non è litigarello.
Unlucky at gambling, lucky in love. Sfortunato al gioco, fortunato in amore.
Old love does not rust. Amor vecchio non fa ruggine.
Love is blind. L’amore è cieco.

Spread the love!

Now you know how to express affection and love for the people and beings around you in Italian.

All you have to do now is go out and spread the love in Italian... or any language, for that matter!

And if you loved this Italian blog vocabulary article? Check out more of our fun and free resources on our learning Italian blog here.

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