Translations dictionary
te amo
[tey ah-moh]
What does te amo mean?
Te amo means “I love you” in Spanish and Portuguese.
Where does te amo come from?
Te amo means “I love you” in Spanish and Portuguese—a two-for-one there, you aspiring papi chulo, you.
For word nerds, te is the second person singular or familiar form of “you” and amo is “I love.” The expression is ancient: We can find te amo in the parent of Spanish and Portuguese, Latin.
In modern Spanish and Portuguese, te amo most often expresses love for a romantic partner, family, and even very near and dear friends. Sometimes it is said with the word yo, “I” and already implied in amo, for emphasis, as in yo te amo.
Te amo mas amiga ! Gracias por todos tus 🎁 ! Eres da best friend in the fucking world 🌎 ❤!!!! 24 y los que faltan! Live you bitchy
— Stephanie Butanda (@ButandaCinthya) May 18, 2018
Examples of te amo
Who uses te amo?
Te amo is generally reserved for more romantic or intense feelings of love, as said between partners or close family members.
Sometimes I wish the man I love can bust a telenovela scene grab me * dramatically and say te amo and passionately kiss me ugh 😩
— ceee (@claudia1034) January 31, 2018
Te quiero, literally “I want you” but with the sense of “I care about you,” can express more casual affection for friends, someone you’re dating, or more distant relations.
Outside of Spanish-language classes, English speakers may have first encountered it in Rihanna’s 2009 song “Te Amo,” about a woman’s passionate but unrequited feelings for Ri Ri.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of te amo like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of te amo that will help our users expand their word mastery.