We’ve already talked about the word amore, so now it’s time to write about one of the most important expressions in any language to communicate your love for someone else. I love you translates to Ti amo in Italian.
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Naturally it is most common to use this phrase with your boy/girlfriend, partner or wife/husband. You can say it on its own or add extra words to emphasise the profound feeling you have for the other person.
Laura, (io) ti amo!
Laura, I love you!
Laura, ti amo tanto!
Laura, I love you very much!
Ti amo da impazzire.
(Lit.) I love you like crazy.
Ti amo da morire.
I love you to death.
Ti amo da impazzire can also be reworded to say I’m crazy about you:
- Sono pazzo di te
- Vado matto per te (lit. I’m going crazy for you)
Other popular phrases containing ti amo include:
- Oggi ti amo più di ieri = Today I love you more than yesterday
- Ti amo amore mio = I love you, my love
- Ti amo per quello che sei = I love you for what you are
- Ti amo anch’io! = I love you too!
You can say ti amo to your children, but you would rarely use it with a friend unless you really wanted to emphasise your deep affection for them. It is more common to use phrases such as ti voglio bene or ti voglio un mondo di bene in this case.
Ti amo is from the verb amare (to love). Here is the full conjugation of amare in the most popular tenses.
Presente (present tense)
- (Io) ti amo = I love you
- (Tu) mi ami = You love me
- (Lui/Lei) mi ama = He/She loves me
- (Noi) vi amiamo = We love you (plural)
- (Voi) ci amate = You love us
- (Essi/Loro) mi amano = They love me
Passato prossimo (present perfect)
- (Io) ti ho amato = I have loved you / I loved you
- (Tu) mi hai amato = You have loved me / You loved me
- (Lui/Lei) mi ha amato/a = He/She has loved me / He/She loved me
- (Noi) vi abbiamo amati = We have loved you (plural) / We loved you
- (Voi) ci avete amato = You have loved us / You loved us
- (Essi/Loro) mi hanno amato = They have loved me / They loved me
Passato remoto (Preterit)
- (Io) ti amai = I loved you
- (Tu) mi amasti = You loved me
- (Lui/Lei) mi amò = He/She loved me
- (Noi) vi amammo = We loved you (plural)
- (Voi) ci amaste = You loved us
- (Essi/Loro) mi amarono = They loved me
Imperfetto (imperfect)
- (Io) ti amavo = I was loving you
- (Tu) mi amavi = You were loving me
- (Lui/Lei) mi amava = He/She was loving me
- (Noi) vi amavamo = We were loving you (plural)
- (Voi) ci amavate = You were loving us
- (Essi/Loro) mi amavano = They were loving me
Futuro semplice (future tense)
- (Io) ti amerò = I will love you
- (Tu) mi amerai = You will love me
- (Lui/Lei) mi amerà = He/She will love me
- (Noi) vi ameremo = We will love you (plural)
- (Voi) ci amerete = You will love us
- (Essi/Loro) mi ameranno = They will love me
If you don’t love the person anymore, you can say non ti amo più (I don’t love you anymore) or ho smesso di amarti (I’ve stopped loving you).
Mi dispiace Carlo, ma non ti amo più.
I’m sorry Carlo, but I don’t love you anymore.
But let’s keep things positive, shall we? The best way to conclude this article is to mention a very famous Italian song by Umberto Tozzi whose title is…
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Mathieu Gasquet was born and raised in Turin in the north of Italy to an Italian mother and a French father. He provides the audio pronunciation for Daily Italian Words.
