Italian Phrase: Ciao, amore mio! (Hello, my love!)

Valentine’s Day may be over, but there’s never a bad time to learn a romantic Italian greeting, wouldn’t you agree?

Ciao, amore mio!

Hello, my love!
Hi, my love!


ciao amore mio

Let’s break it down into its component parts:

ciao

Ciao is a standard informal greeting in Italian that translates as hello / hi when you meet someone or bye when you part ways.

amore

Amore means love. Just like its English equivalent, it can also function a term of endearment.

mio

Mio is the first person masculine singular possessive adjective meaning my.

Note that mio is used when referring to both men and women. This is because it modifies the masculine noun amore, not the person themselves.

Back view portrait of man greeting woman with open arms after parting
Ciao, amore mio! Quanto mi sei mancata! = Hi, my love! How I’ve missed you!

You will also hear Italian people say mio amore with the two words inverted, but used in this way, it is almost always preceded by the definite article il (the) and doesn’t function as an affectionate form of address. Consider the following sentences for example:

  • Il mio amore per te è infinito. = My love for you is infinite.
  • Il mio amore è andato via. = My love went away.
  • Non meriti il mio amore. = You don’t deserve my love.

Note that Italians also use amore with their children, not just their romantic partners. For example, the sentence below could refer to either a husband/wife who is returning from a business trip, or a son/daughter who was away for a few days on a school trip.

Il mio amore torna a casa questa sera, finalmente!

My love is coming back home tonight, finally!


Because ciao can also mean bye, an alternative interpretation of this phrase could be Bye, my love! When the meaning is bye rather than hello, you can choose to repeat the word ciao twice (ciao ciao = bye bye).

When addressing your children or your family as a whole, it isn’t uncommon to use the plural Ciao, amori miei! (Hello, my loves!)

Portrait of happy interracial family sitting on couch at home together with mature mother breastfeeding baby
Ciao, amori miei. Avete passato una bella giornata?Hi, my loves. Did you have a nice day?

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